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I 


TO 
HIS    ROYAL    HIGHNESS, 

ALBERT  EDWARD,  PRINCE  OF  WALES, 

THIS   ACCOUNT   OF 

THE   FAIRY    MYTHOLOGY    AND    FOLK-LORE 
OF  HIS  PRINCIPALITY 

IS  BY  PERMISSION  DEDICATED. 


British  Goblins 


WELSH  FOLKLORE,  FAIRY  MYTHOLOGY, 
LEGENDS  AND  TRADITIONS, 


WIRT    SIKES, 

UNITED  STATES  CONSUL   POE  WALES. 


WITH     iLLUtTRATIONt    BY   T.    H.    THOMAf. 


In  oide  day«i  of  th«  Kyng  Aiihour  .  .  . 
Al  was  ihis  load  fuJfilUd  of  fayric. 

Cnaucbk. 


SECOND    EDITION. 


LONDON: 
SAMPSON   LOW,  MARSTON,  SEARLE,  &  RIVINGTON, 

CROWN  BUILDINGS,  i88  FLEET  STREET. 

i88a 

[Ail  rigfUt  retcrvtd.} 


'       B 


OHC  •YO'^ 


LONDON  ; 

P»IN»KD  BY  WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  SONS, 

•TAMPOKD  tTMBBT  AND  CMAMNO  CKOM. 


PREFACE. 


In  a  certain  sense  Wales  may  be  spoken  of  as  the 
cradle  of  fairy  legend.  It  is  not  now  disputed  that 
from  the  Welsh  were  borrowed  many  of  the  first 
subjects  of  composition  in  the  literature  of  all  the 
cultivated  peoples  of  Europe. 

In  the  ground  it  covers,  while  this  volume  deals 
especially  with  Wales,  and  still  more  especially  with 
South  Wales — where  there  appear  to  have  been 
human  dwellers  long  before  North  Wales  was 
peopled — it  also  includes  the  border  counties, 
notably  Monmouthshire,  which,  though  severed 
from  Wales  by  Act  of  Parliament,  is  really 
very  Welsh  in  all  that  relates  to  the  past.  In 
Monmouthshire  is  the  decayed  cathedral  city  of 
Caerleon,  where,  according  to  tradition,  Arthur  was 
crowned  king  in  508,  and  where  he  set  up  his  most 
dazzling  court,  as  told  in  the  '  Morte  d'Arthun' 

The  Arthur  of  British  history  and  tradition  stands 
to  Welshmen  in  much  the  same  light  that  Alfred 
the  Great  stands  to  Englishmen.  Around  this 
historic    or    semi-historic    Arthur   has   gathered   a 


viii  Preface. 


throng  of  shining  legends  of  fabulous  sort,  with 
which  English  readers  are  more  or  less  familiar.  An 
even  grander  figure  is  the  Arthur  who  existed  in 
Welsh  mythology  before  the  birth  of  the  warrior- 
king.  The  mythic  Arthur,  it  is  presumed,  began 
his  shadowy  life  in  pre-historic  ages,  and  grew  pro- 
gressively in  mythologic  story,  absorbing  at  a  certain 
period  the  personality  of  the  real  Arthur,  and  be- 
coming the  type  of  romantic  chivalry.  A  similar 
state  of  things  is  indicated  with  regard  to  the 
enchanter  Merlin  ;  there  was  a  mythic  Merlin  before 
the  real  Merlin  was  born  at  Carmarthen. 

W^h  the  rich  mass  of  legendary  lore  to  which 
these  figures  belong,  the  present  volume  is  not  in- 
tended to  deal ;  nor  do  its  pages  treat,  save  in  the 
most  casual  and  parsing  manner,  of  the  lineage  and 
original  significance  of  the  lowly  goblins  which  are 
its  theme.  The  questions  here  involved,  and  the 
task  of  adequately  treating  them,  belong  to  the 
comparative  mythologist  and  the  critical  historian. 
rather  than  to  the  mere  literary  workman. 

United  States  Consulate,  Cardiff, 
August ^  1879. 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK   I. 

THE  REALM  OF  FAERIE. 
CHAPTER  I. 

TAUR 

Fairy  Tales  and  the  Ancient  Mythology — The  Compensations  of 
Science— Existing  Belief  in  Fairies  in  Wales — The  Faith  of 
Culture — The  Credulity  of  Ignorance — The  Old-Time  Welsh 
Fairyland — The  Fairy  King — The  Legend  of  St.  Collen  and 
Gwyn  ap  Nudd — The  Green  Meadows  of  the  Sea — Fairies  at 
Market — The  Land  of  Mystery     ..  ..  ..  .,  ,.       i 

CHAPTER  IL 

Classification  of  Welsh  Fairies — General  Designation — Habits  of 
the  Tylwyth  Teg — Ellvllon,  or  Elves — Shakspeare's  Use  of 
Welsh  Folk- Lore— Rowii  Pugh  and  the  Ellyll— Household  Story 
Roots— The  Ellylldan— The  Pooka— Puck  Valley,  Breconshire 
— Where  Shakspeare  got  his  Puck — Pwca  'r  Trwyn — Usual 
Form  of  the  Pooka  Story — Coblynau,  or  Mine  Fairies — The 
Knockers — Miners'  Superstitions — Basilisks  and  Fire  Fiends — 
A  Fairy  Coal-mine — The  Dwarfs  of  Cae-Caled — Counterparts 
of  the  Coblynau — The  Bwbach,  or  Household  Fairy — Legend 
of  the  Bwbach  and  the  Preacher — Bogies  and  Hobgoblins- 
Carrying  Mortals  through  the  Air—  Counterparts  and  Originals     1 1 

CHAPTER  in. 

Lake  Fairies— The  Gwragedd  Annwn,  or  Dames  of  Elfin-Land— 
St.  Patrick  and  the  Welshmen  ;  a  Legend  of  Crumlyn  Lake— 
The  Elfin  Cow  of  Llyn  Barfog— Y  Fuwch  Laethwen  Lefrith 
— The  Legend  of  the  Meddygon  Myddfai — The  Wife  of  Super- 
natural Race — The  Three  Blows  ;  a  Carmarthenshire  Legend 
—Cheese  and  the  Didactic  Purpose  in  Welsh  Folk-Lore— The 
Fairy  Maiden's  Papa— The  Enchanted  Isle  in  the  Mountain 
Lake — Legend  of  the  Men  of  Ardudwy — Origin  of  Water 
Fairies— Their  prevalence  in  many  Lands         ..  ..  ..34 


Contents, 


CHAPTER  IV. 


AOK 


Mountain  Fairies — The  Gwyllion — The  Old  Woman  of  the  Moun- 
tain— The  Black  Mountain  Gwyll  — Exorcism  by  Knife— Occult 
Intellectual  Powers  of  Welsh  Goats — The  Legend  of  Cadwa- 
ladr's  Goat     ..  ..  ..  ..  ..     49 

CHAPTER  V. 

Changelings — The  Plentyn-newid — The  Cruel  Creed  of  Ignorance 
regarding  Changelings — Modes  of  Ridding  the  House  of  the 
Fairy  Child — The  Legend  of  the  Frugal  Meal — Legend  of  the 
Place  of  Strife — Dewi  Dal  and  the  Fairies — Prevention  of  Fairy 
Kidnapping — Fairies  caught  in  the  Act  by  Mothers— Piety  as 
an  Exorcism  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..56 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Living  with  the  Tylwyth  Teg— The  Tale  of  Elidurus — Shui  Rhys 
and  the  Fairies — St.  Dogmell's  Parish,  Pembrokeshire — Danc- 
ing with  the  EUyllon — The  Legend  of  Rhys  and  Llewellyn — 
Death  from  joining  in  the  Fairy  Reel— Legend  of  the  Bush  of 
Heaven — The  Forest  of  the  Magic  Yew — The  I'ale  of  Twm  and 
lago — Taffy  ap  Sion,  a  Legend  of  Pencader — The  Traditions 
of  Pant  Shon  Shenkin — Tudur  of  Llangollen  ;  the  Legend  of 
Nant  yr  Ellyllon— Polly  Williams  and  the  Trefethin  Elves— The 
Fairies  of  Frennifawr— Curiosity  Tales — The  Fiend  Master — 
lago  ap  Dewi — The  Original  of  Rip  Van  Winkle  ..  ..     65 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Fairy  Music — Birds  of  Enchantment— The  Legend  of  Shon  ap 
Shenkin— Harp-Music  in  Welsh  Fairy  Tales  — Legend  of  the 
Magic  Harp— Songs  and  Tunes  of  the  Tylwyth  Teg — The 
Legend  of  lolo  ap  Hugh — Mystic  Origin  of  an  old  Welsh  Air    91 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Fairy  Rings— The  Prophet  Jones  and  his  Works— The  Mysterious 
Language  of  the  Tylwyth  Teg — The  Horse  in  Welsh  Folk-Lore 
—Equestrian  Fairies — Fairy  Cattle,  Sheep,  Swine,  etc. — The 
Flying  Fairies  of  BedwcUty— The  Fairy  Sheepfold  at  Cae  'r 
Cefn    ..  ..  ..  ..  ....  ..  ..  ..    103 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Piety  as  a  Protection  from  the  Seductions  of  the  Tylwyth  Teg — 
Various  Exorcisms — Cock-crowing— The  Name  of  God — Fenc- 
ing off  the  Fairies— Old  Betty  Griffith  and  her  Eithin  Barri- 
cade—Means of  Getting  Rid  of  the  Tylwyth  Teg— The  Bwbach 
of  the  Hcndrcfawr  Farpi — The  J^wca  'r  Trwyn's  Flitting  in  a 
JujjofBarm.,  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..    112 


Contents,  xi 


CHAPTER  X. 

Fairy  Money  and  Fairy  Gifts  in  General— The  Story  of  Gitto  Bach, 
or  Little  Griffith— The  Penalty  of  Blabbing— Legends  of  the 
Shepherds  of  Cwm  Llan — The  Money  Value  of  Kindness— 
lanto  Llwellyn  and  the  Tylwyth  Teg— The  Legend  of  Hafod 
Lwyddog— Lessons  inculcated  by  these  Superstitions  ..  ..    119 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Origins  of  Welsh  Fairies — The  Realistic  Theory — Legend  of  the 
Baron's  Gate — The  Red  Fairies — The  Trwyn  Fairy  a  Proscribed 
Nobleman — The  Theory  of  hiding  Druids — Colour  in  Welsh 
Fairy  Attire— The  Green  Lady  of  Caerphilly— White  the 
favourite  Welsh  Hue — Legend  of  the  Prolific  Woman — The 
Poctico-Rehgious  Theory — The  Creed  of  Science  ..127 


BOOK  II. 

THE  SPIRIT-WORLD. 
CHAPTER  I. 


Modem  Superstition  regarding  Ghosts — American  *  Spiritualism  ' 
— Welsh  Beliefs — Classification  of  Welsh  Ghosts— Departed 
Mortals — Haunted  Houses — Lady  Stradling's  Ghost— The 
Haunted  Bridge — The  Legend  of  Catrin  Gwyn — Didactic 
Purpose  in  Cambrian  Apparitions — An  Insulted  Corpse — Duty- 
performing  Ghosts — Laws  of  the  Spirit-World — Cadogan's 
Ghost  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..         ..  ..    137 

CHAPTER  II. 

Household  Ghosts  and  Hidden  Treasures— The  Miser  of  St. 
Donat's — Anne  Dewy's  Ghost — The  Ghost  on  Horseback — 
Hidden  Objects  of  Small  Value — Transportation  through  the 
Air — From  Breconshire  to  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  in  Thirty-Six 
Hours — Sir  David  Llwyd,  the  Magician — The  Levitation  of 
Walter  Jones— Superstitions  regarding  Hares — The  Legend 
of  Monacella's  Lambs — Aerial  Transportation  in  Modern 
Spiritualism — Exorcising  Household  Ghosts — The  Story  of 
Haunted  Margaret    ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..    151 

CHAPTER  III. 

Spectral  Animals— The  Chained  Spirit — The  Gwyllgi,  or  Dog  of 
Darkness — The  Legend  of  Lisworney-Crossways — The  Gwyllgi 
of  the  Devil's  Nags — The  Dog  of  Pant  y  Madog — Terrors  of 
the  Brute  Creation  at  Phantoms — Apparitions  of  Natural 
Objects — Phantom  Ships  and  Phantom  Islands  ..  ,.  ..    167 


xii  K^ontenis, 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TACB 

Grotesque  Ghosts—The  Phantom  Horseman— Gigantic  Spirits— 
The  Black  GJtost  of  Ffynon  yr  Yspryd— Black  Men  in  the 
Mabinogion— Whirling  Ghosts— Antic  Spirits— The  Tridoll 
Valley  Ghost— Resemblance  to  Modem  Spiritualistic  Perform- 
ances— Household  FairJes  ..  ..  ••    '74 


"    •        CHAPTER  V. 

Familiar  Spirits— The  Famous  Sprite  of  Trwyn  Farm — Was  it  a 
Fairy  ? — The  Familiar  Spirits  of  Magicians — Sir  David  Llwyd's 
Demon — Familiar  Spirits  in  Female  Form — The  Legend  of  the 
Lady  of  the  Wood— The  Devil  as  a  Familiar  Spirit — His 
Disguises  in  this  Character —Summoning  and  Exorcising 
Familiars  —  Jenkin  the  Pembrokeshire  Schoolmaster — The 
Terrible  Tailor  of  Glanbran  ..  ..  ..187 


CHAPTER  VL 

The  Evil  Spirit  in  his  customary  Form — The  stupid  Medieval 
Devil  in  Wales— Sion  Cent— The  Devil  outwitted — Pacts  with 
the  Fiend  and  their  avoidance — Sion  Dafydd's  Foul  Pipe — The 
Devil's  Bridge  and  its  Legends — Similar  Legends  m  other 
Lands — The  Devil's  Pulpit  near  Tintern — Angelic  Spirits — 
Welsh  Superstitions  as  to  pronouncing  the  Name  of  the  Evil 
Spirit — The  Bardic  Tradition  of  the  Creation — The  Struggle 
between  Light  and  Darkness  and  its  Symbolization  ..   202 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Cambrian  Death-Portents— The  Corpse-Bird  — The  Tan-Wedd 
— Listening  at  the  Church-Door — The  Lledrith — The  Gwrach 
y  Rhibyn — The  Llandafif  Gwrach — Ugliness  of  this  Female 
Apparition — The  Black  Maiden — The  Cyhyraeth,  or  Crying 
Spirit — Its  Moans  on  Land  and  Sea — The  St.  Mellons  Cy- 
hyraeth— The  Groaning  Spirit  of  Bedwellty  ..212 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Tolaeth  Death  Portent— Its  various  Forms— The  Tolaeth 
before  Death — Ewythr  Jenkin's  Tolaeth— A  modern  Instance — 
The  Railway  Victim's  Warning— The  Goblin  Voice  —The  Voice 

from  the  Cloud— Legend  of  the  Lord  and  the  Beggar The 

Goblin  Funeral— The  Horse's  Skull— The  Goblin  Veil— The 
Wraith  of  Llanllwch— Dogs  of  Hell— The  Tale  of  Pwyll— 
Spiritual  Hunting  Dogs— Origin  of  the  Cwn  Annwn    .. 


Conten  ts .  xiii 


CHAPTER  IX. 

PAGB 

The  Corpse  Candle — Its  Peculiarities — The  Woman  of  Caerau — 
Grasping  a  Corpse  Candle — The  Crwys  Candle — Lights  issuing 
from  the  Mouth — Jesting  with  theCanwyll  Corph — The  Candle 
at  Pontfaen— The  Three  Candles  at  GoKicn  Grcve — Origin  of 
Death-Portents  in  Wales — Degree  of  Belief  prevalent  at  the 
Present  Day — Origin  of  Spirits  in  Gcdfral — The  Siipernatural 
—The  Question  of  a  Future  Life 238 


BOOK   III. 

QUAINT  OLD  CUSTOMS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Serious  Significance  of  seemingly  Trivial  Customs — Their  Origins 
— Common  Superstitions — The  Age  we  Live  in — Days  and 
Seasons — New  Year's  Day— The  Apple  Gift — Lucky  Acts  on 
New  Year's  Morning — The  First  Foot — Showmen's  Supersti- 
tions— Levy  Dew  Song — Happy  New  Year  Carol — Twelfth 
Night— The  Man  Lwyd— The  Penglog— The  Cutty  Wren- 
Tooling  and  Sowling — St.  Valentine's  Day — St.  Dewi's  Day — 
The  Wearing  of  the  Leek— The  Traditional  St.  David— St. 
Patrick's  Day — St.  Patrick  a  Welshman — Shrove  Tuesday    ..    250 

CHAPTER  IL 

Sundry  Lenten  Customs — Mothering  Sunday — Palm  Sunday — 
Flowering  Sunday — Walking  Barefoot  to  phurch — Spiritual 
Potency  of  Buns — Good  Friday  Superstitions — Making  Christ's 
Bed — Bad  Odour  of  Friday — Unlucky  Days — Holy  Thursday 
— The  Eagle  of  Snowdon — New  Clothing  at  Easter — Lifting — 
The  Crown  of  Porcelain — Stocsio — Ball-Playing  in  Church- 
yards— The  Tump  of  Lies — Dancing  in  Churchyards — Seeing 
the  Sun  Dance — Calan  Ebrill,  or  All  Fools'  Day — May  Day — 
The  Welsh  Maypole— The  Daughter  of  Lludd  Llaw  Ereint— 
Carrying  the  Kings  of  Summer  and  Winter        ..  ..  ..    266 

CHAPTER  III. 

Midsummer  Eve— The  Druidic  Ceremonies  at  Pontypridd — The 
Snake  Stone — Beltane  Fires — Fourth  of  July  Fires  in  America 
— St.  Ulric's  Day— Carrying  Cynog— Marketing  on  Tomb- 
stones—The First  Night  of  Winter— The  Three  Nights  for 
Spirits— The  Tale  of  Thomas  Williams  the  Preacher— All 
Hallows  Eve  Festivities  —  Running  through  Fire  —  Quaint 
Border  Rhymes — The  Puzzling  Jug — Bobbing  for  Apples — The 
Fiery  Features  of  Guy  Fawkes'  Day — St.  Clement's  Day — 
Stripping  the  Carpenter       ..  *      ..  ,.  ..  ..  ,.    277 


xiv  Contints. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PAGB 

Nadolig,  the  Welsh  Christmas— Bell-Ringing — Carols — Dancing 
to  the  Music  of  the  Waits — An  Evening  in  Carmarthenshire 
— Shenkin  Harry,  the  Preacher,  and  the  Jig  Tune — Welsh 
Morality — Eisteddfodau — Decorating  Houses  and  Churches— 
The  Christmas  Thrift-Box— The  Colliers'  Star-The  Plygain— 
Pagan  Origin  of  Christmas  Customs        ,.         ..  ..   286 


CHAPTER  Y.     y 

Courtship  and  Marriage — Planting  Weeds  and  Rue  on  the  Graves 
of  Old  Bachelors— Special  Significance  of  Flowers  in  connec- 
tion with  Virginity — The  Welsh  Venus— Bundling,  or  Courting 
Abed — Kissmg  Schools — Rhamanta — Lovers'  Superstitions — 
The  Maid's  Trick — Dreaming  on  a  Mutton  Bone— Wheat  and 
Shovel — Garters  in  a  Lovers*  Knot — Egg-Shell  Cake— Sowing 
Leeks— Twca  and  Sheath   ..  ..         ..  ..  ..         ..   298 


CHAPTER  VL 

Wedding  Customs— The  Bidding — Forms  of  Cymmhorth — The 
Gwahoddwr  — Horse- Weddings — Stealing  a  Bride — Obstruc- 
tions to  the  Bridal  Party — The  Gwyntyn — Chaining — Evergreen 
Arches — Strewing  Flowers — Throwing  Rice  and  Shoes — Rose- 
mary in  the  Garden— Names  after  Marriage — The  Coolstrin — 
The  CeflTyl  Pren        306 


CHAPTER  VIL 

Death  and  Burial  — The  Gwylnos  — Beer- Drinking  at  Welsh 
Funerals — Food  and  Drink  over  the  Coffin — Sponge  Cakes  at 
Modern  Funerals — The  Sin- Eater— Welsh  Deniad  that  this 
Custom  ever  existed — The  Testimony  concerning  it — Super- 
stitions regarding  Salt — Plate  of  Salt  on  Corpse's  Breast 
—The  Scapegoat— The  St.  Tegla  Cock  and  Hen— Welsh 
Funeral  Processions — Praying  at  Cross-roads — Superstition 
regarding  Criminals'  Graves— Hanging  and  Welsh  Prejudice 
— The  Grassless  Grave — Parson's  Penny,  or  Oflfrwm — Old 
Shoes  to  the  Clerk— Arian  y  Rhaw,  or  Spade  Money — Burials 
without  Coffin — The  Sul  Coffa — Planting  and  Strewing  Graves 
with  Flowers  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ,.    321 


«i 


51. 


Coiitefits.  XV 


BOOK  IV. 

BELLS,  WELLS,  STONES,  AND  DRAGONS. 
CHAPTER  L 

PAGE 

Base  of  the  Primeval  Mythology— Bells  and  their  Ghosts — The 
Bell  that  committed  Murder  and  was  damned  for  it — The 
Occult  Powers  of  Bells — Their  Work  as  Detectives,  Doctors, 
etc. — Legend  of  the  Bell  of  Rhayader — St.  Illtyd's  Wonderful 
Bell— The  Golden  Bell  of  Llandaff  33S 


CHAPTER  II. 

Mystic  Wells — Their  Good  and  Bad  Dispositions — St.  Winifred's 
Well— The  Legend  of  St.  Winifred— Miracles— St.  Tecla's  Well 
— St.  Dwynwen's— Curing  Love-sickness — St.  Cynfran's — St. 
Cynhafal's — Throwing  Pins  in  Wells — Warts — Barry  Island  and 
its  Legends — Ffynon  Gwynwy — Propitiatory  Gifts  to  Wells — 
The  Dreadful  Cursing  Well  of  St.  EHan's — Wells  Flowing  with 
Milk— St.  Illtyd's— Taff's  Well— Sanford's  Well— Origins  of 
Superstitions  of  this  Class  ..  ..  ..  ..  „  ,.   345 

CHAPTER  III. 

Personal  Attributes  of  Legendary  Welsh  Stones — Stone  Worship — 
— Canna's  Stone  Chair — Miraculous  Removals  of  Stone — The 
Walking  Stone  of  Eitheinn — The  Thigh  Stone — The  Talking 
Stone  in  Pembrokeshire — The  Expanding  Stone — Magic  Stones 
in  the  Mabinogion — The  Stone  of  Invisibihty — The  Stone  of 
Remembrance — Stone  Thief-catchers — Stones  of  Healing — 
Stones  at  Cross-roads — Memorials  of  King  Arthur — Round 
Tables,  Cams,  Pots,  etc. — Arthur's  Quoits — The  Gigantic 
Rock-tossers  of  Old — Mol  Walbec  and  the  Pebble  in  her  Shoe 
— The  Giant  of  Trichrug — Giants  and  the  Mythology  of  the 
Heavens — The  Legend  of  Rhitta  Gawr    ..  ..  ..  ..   361 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Early  Inscribed  Stones — The  Stone  Pillar  of  Ban  wan  Bryddin, 
near  Neath — Catastrophe  accompanying  its  Removal — The 
Sagranus  Stone  and  the  White  Lady — The  Dancing  Stones  of 
Stackpool — Human  Beings  changed  to  Stones — St.  Ceyna  and 
the  Serpents — The  Devil's  Stone  at  Llanarth — Rocking  Stones 
and  their  accompanying  Superstitions — The  Suspended  Altar 
of  Loin-Garth — Cromlechs  and  their  Fairy  Legends — The 
Fairies'  Castle  at  St.  Nicholas,  Glamorganshire — The  Stone  of 
the  Wolf  Bitch— The  Welsh  Melusina — Pare  y  Bigwrn  Cromlech 
— Connection  of  these  Stones  with  Ancient  Druidism  ..  .,   373 


Lir\U*1i/J 


XVI 


Contents. 


■ 


CHAPTER  V. 

PAGE 

Baleful  Spirits  of  Storm — The  Shov/er  at  the  Magic  Fountain — 
Obstacles  in  the  way  of  Treasure-Seekers — The  Red  Lady  of 
Paviland— The  Fall  of  Coychurch  Tower — Thunder  and  Light- 
ning evoked  by  Digging — The  Treasure- Chest  under  Moel 
Arthur  in  the  Vale  of  Clwyd — Modern  Credulity — The  Cavern 
of  the  Ravens — The  Eagle-guarded  Coffer  of  Castell  Coch — 
Sleeping  Warriors  as  Treasure-Guarders — The  Dragon  which 
St.  Samson  drove  out  of  Wales — Dragons  in  the  Mabinogion — 
Whence  came  the  Red  Dragon  of  Wales? — The  Original 
Dragon  of  Mythology — Prototypes  of  the  Welsh  Caverns  and 
Treasure- Hills — The  Goblins  of  Electricity        ..  ..  ..    385 


II 


,  •  •  •  •   •  • 


BRITISH    GOBLINS. 


BOOK  I. 

THE  REALM  OF  FAERIE. 

At  eve,  the  primrose  path  along, 
The  milkmaid  shortens  with  a  song 

Her  solitary  way  ; 
She  sees  the  fairies  with  their  queen 
Trip  hand-in-hand  the  circled  green, 
And  hears  them  raise,  at  times  unseen, 

The  ear-enchanting  lay. 

Rev.  John  Logan  :  Ode  to  Spring,  1780. 


CHAPTER  L 

Fairy  Tales  and  the  Ancient  Mythology— The  Compensations  of 
Science — Existing  Belief  in  Fairies  in  Wales — The  Faith  of  Culture 
— The  Credulity  of  Ignorance— The  Old-Time  Welsh  Fairyland— 
The  Fairy  King — The  Legend  of  St.  Collen  and  Gwyn  ap  Nudd 
— The  Green  Meadows  of  the  Sea — Fairies  at  Market — The  Land 
of  Mystery. 

I. 

With  regard  to  other  divisions  of  the  field  of  folk- 
lore, the  views  of  scholars  differ,  but  in  the  realm 
of  faerie  these  differences  are  reconciled  ;  it  is  agreed 
that  fairy  tales  are  relics  of  the  ancient  mythology ; 
and  the  philosophers  stroll  hand  in  hand  harmo- 
niously. This  is  as  it  should  be,  in  a  realm  about 
which  cluster  such  delightful  memories  of  the  most 
poetic  period  of  life — childhood,  before  scepticism 
has  crept  in  as  ignorance  slinks  out.  The  know- 
ledge which  introduced  scepticism  is  infinitely  more 


British  Goblins. 


valuable  than  the  faith  it  displaced  ;  but,  in  spite 
of  that,  there  be  few  among  us  who  have  not  felt 
evanescent  regrets  for  the  displacement  by  the  foi 
scientifique  of  the  old  faith  in  fairies.  There  was 
something  so  peculiarly  fascinating  in  that  old  belief, 
that  *  once  upon  a  time '  the  world  was  less  practical 
in  its  facts  than  now,  less  commonplace  and  hum- 
drum, less  subject  to  the  inexorable  laws  of  gravi- 
tation, optics,  and  the  like.  What  dramas  it  has 
yielded  !  What  poems,  what  dreams,  what  delights  ! 
But  since  the  knowledge  of  our  maturer  years 
destroys  all  that,  it  is  with  a  degree  of  satisfaction 
we  can  turn  to  the  consolations  of  the  fairy  mytho- 
logy. The  beloved  tales  of  old  are  '  not  true ' — 
but  at  least  they  are  not  mere  idle  nonsense,  and 
they  have  a  good  and  sufficient  reason  for  being  in 
the  world ;  we  may  continue  to  respect  them.  The 
wit  who  observed  that  the  final  cause  of  fairy 
legends  is  '  to  afford  sport  for  people  who  ruthlessly 
track  them  to  their  origin,'  ^  expressed  a  grave  truth 
in  jocular  form.  Since  one  can  no  longer  rest  in 
peace  with  one's  ignorance,  it  is  a  comfort  to  the 
lover  of  fairy  legends  to  find  that  he  need  not  sweep 
them  into  the  grate  as  so  much  rubbish  ;  on  the 
contrary  they  become  even  more  enchanting  in  the 
crucible  of  science  than  they  were  in  their  old 
character. 

II. 

Among  the  vulgar  in  Wales,  the  belief  in  fairies 
is  less  nearly  extinct  than  casual  observers  would  be 
likely  to  suppose.  Even  educated  people  who  dwell 
in  Wales,  and  have  dwelt  there  all  their  lives,  can- 
not always  be  classed  as  other  than  casual  observers 
in  this  field.  There  are  some  such  residents  who 
have  paid  special  attention  to  the  subject,  and  have 

*  'Saturday  Review/  October  20,  1877. 


i 


The  Realm  of  Faerie. 


formed  an  opinion  as  to  the  extent  of  prevalence  of 
popular  credulity  herein  ;  but  most  Welsh  people  of 
the  educated  class,  I  find,  have  no  opinion,  beyond 
a  vague  surprise  that  the  question  should  be  raised 
at  all.  So  lately  as  the  year  1858,  a  learned  writer 
in  the  '  Archseologia  Cambrensis '  declared  that  '  the 
traveller  may  now  pass  from  one  end  of  the  Princi- 
pality to  the  other,  without  his  being  shocked  or 
amused,  as  the  case  may  be,  by  any  of  the  fairy 
legends  or  popular  tales  which  used  to  pass  current 
from  father  to  son.'  But  in  the  same  periodical, 
eighteen  years  later,  I  find  Mr.  John  Walter 
Lukis  (President  of  the  Cardiff  Naturalists'  Society), 
asserting  with  regard  to  the  cromlechs,  tumuli,  and 
ancient  camps  in  Glamorganshire :  '  There  are 
always  fairy  tales  and  ghost  stories  connected  with 
them  ;  some,  though  fully  believed  in  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  those  localities,  are  often  of  the  most  absurd 
character ;  in  fact,  the  more  ridiculous  they  are,  the 
more  they  are  believed  in.'^  My  own  observation 
leads  me  to  support  the  testimony  of  the  last-named 
witness.  Educated  Europeans  generally  conceive 
that  this  sort  of  belief  is  extinct  in  their  own  land, 
or,  at  least  their  own  immediate  section  of  that  land. 
They  accredit  such  degree  of  belief  as  may  remain, 
in  this  enlightened  age,  to  some  remote  part — to 
the  south,  if  they  dwell  in  the  north ;  to  the  north, 
if  they  dwell  in  the  south.  But  especially  they 
accredit  it  to  a  previous  age:  in  Wales,  to  last 
century,  or  the  middle  ages,  or  the  days  of  King 
Arthur.  The  rector  of  Merthyr,  being  an  elderly 
man,  accredits  it  to  his  youth.  *  I  am  old  enough 
to  remember,'  he  wrote  me  under  date  of  January 
30th,  1877,  'that  these  tales  were  thoroughly 
believed  in  among  country  folk  forty  or  fifty  years 

*  '  Archaeologia  Cambrensis,'  4th  Se.,  vi.,  174. 

A    2 


British  Goblins. 


ago/  People  of  superior  culture  have  held  this 
kind  of  faith  concerning  fairy-lore,  it  seems  to  me, 
in  every  age,  except  the  more  remote.  Chaucer 
held  it,  almost  five  centuries  ago,  and  wrote  '} 

In  olde  dayes  of  the  Kyng  Arthour,  .  .  . 
Al  was  this  lond  fidfilled  of  fayrie  ;  .  .  . 
I  speke  of  many  hundrid  yer  ago  ; 
But  now  can  no  man  see  non  elves  mo. 

Dryden  held  it,  two  hundred  years  later,  and  said 
of  the  fairies : 

I  speak  of  ancient  times,  for  now  the  swain 
Returning  late  may  pass  the  woods  in  vain, 
And  never  hope  to  see  the  nightly  train. 

In  all  later  days,  other  authors  have  written  the 
same  sort  of  thing ;  it  is  not  thus  now,  say  they,  but 
it  was  recently  thus.  The  truth,  probably,  is  that 
if  you  will  but  sink  down  to  the  level  of  common 
life,  of  ignorant  life,  especially  in  rural  neighbour- 
hoods, there  you  will  find  the  same  old  beliefs 
prevailing,  in  about  the  same  degree  to  which  they 
have  ever  prevailed,  within  the  past  five  hundred 
years.  To  sink  to  this  level  successfully,  one  must 
become  a  living  unit  in  that  life,  as  I  have  done  in 
Wales  and  elsewhere,  from  time  to  time.  Then  one 
will  hear  the  truth  from,  or  at  least  the  true  senti- 
ments of,  the  class  he  seeks  to  know.  The  practice 
of  every  generation  in  thus  relegating  fairy  belief 
to  a  date  just  previous  to  its  own  does  not  apply, 
however,  to  superstitious  beliefs  in  general ;  for, 
concerning  many  such  beliefs,  their  greater  or  less 
prevalence  at  certain  dates  (as  in  the  history  of 
witchcraft)  is  matter  of  well-ascertained  fact.  I  con- 
fine the  argument,  for  the  present,  strictly  to  the 
domain  of  faerie.  In  this  domain,  the  prevalent  belief 
in  Wales  may  be  said  to  rest  with  the  ignorant,  to 

^  '  Wyf  of  Bathes  Tale,' '  Canterbury  Tales.' 


The  Realm  of  Faerie, 


be  strongest  in  rural  and  mining  districts,  to  be 
childlike  and  poetic,  and  to  relate  to  anywhere 
except  the  spot  where  the  speaker  dwells — as  to 
the  next  parish,  to  the  next  county,  to  the  distant 
mountains,  or  to  the  shadow-land  of  Gwerddonau 
Llion,  the  green  meadows  of  the  sea. 

III. 

In  Arthur's   day  and  before   that,  the  people  of 
South     Wales    regarded     North    Wales    as    pre- 
eminently   the    land    of    faerie.     In    the    popular 
imagination,   that  distant    country  was    the    chosen 
abode  of  giants,   monsters,   magicians,   and  all  the 
creatures   of  enchantment.      Out    of  it    came    the 
fairies,  on  their  visits  to  the  sunny  land  of  the  south. 
The  chief  philosopher  of  that  enchanted  region  was 
a  giant  who  sat  on  a  mountain  peak  and  watched 
the  stars.    It  had  a  wizard  monarch  called  Gwydion, 
who  possessed  the  power  of  changing  himself  into 
the   strangest   possible   forms.     The   peasant   who 
dwelt  on  the  shores  of  Dyfed  (Demetia)  saw  in  the 
distance,   beyond    the    blue   waves    of    the    ocean, 
shadowy  mountain  summits  piercing  the  clouds,  and 
guarding    this    mystic    region    in    solemn    majesty. 
Thence   rolled    down    upon    him    the    storm-clouds 
from  the  home  of  the  tempest ;  thence  streamed  up 
the  winter  sky  the  flaming  banners  of  the  Northern 
lights ;  thence  rose  through  the  illimitable  darkness 
on  high,  the  star-strewn  pathway  of  the  fairy  king. 
These  details  are  current  in  the  Mabinogion,  those 
brilliant  stories  of  Welsh  enchantment,  so  gracefully 
done  into  English  by  Lady  Charlotte  Guest, ^  and  it 
is  believed  that  all  the  Mabinogion  in  which  these 
details  were  found  were  written  in  Dyfed.     This 

1  '  The  Mabinogion,  from  the  Welsh  of  the  Llyfr  Coch  o  Hergest.' 
Translated,  with  notes,  by  Lady  Charlotte  Guest.  (New  Edition, 
London,  1877.) 


British  Goblins. 


was  the  region  on  the  west,  now  covered  by  Pem- 
broke, Carmarthen,  and  Cardigan  shires. 

More   recently    than    the    time   above    indicated, 
special  traditions  have  located  fairy-land  in  the  Vale_ 
of  Neath,  in   Glamorganshire.      Especially  does  a 
certain  steep  and  rugged  crag  there,  called  Craig  y 
Ddinas,    bear    a    distinctly   awful    reputation    as  a 
stronghold    of    the    fairy    tribe. ^      Its    caves    and 
crevices  have  been  their  favourite  haunt  for  many 
centuries,  and  upon  this  rock  was  held  the  court  of 
the  last  fairies  who  have  ever  appeared  in  Wales. 
Needless    to   say   there   are  men    still   living   who 
remember  the  visits  of  the  fairies  to  Craig  y  Ddinas, 
although  they  aver  the  little  folk  are  no  longer  seen 
there.      It  is  a  common  remark  that  the  Methodists 
drove   them   away ;    indeed,  there   are    numberless 
stories  which  show  the  fairies  to  have  been  animated, 
when   they  were    still    numerous   in   Wales,    by   a 
cordial  antipathy  for  all  dissenting   preachers.      In 
this  antipathy,  it  may  be  here  observed,  teetotallers 
were  included. 

IV. 

The  sovereign  of  the  fairies,  and  their  especial 
guardian  and  protector,  was  one  Gwyn  ap  Nudd. 
He  was  also  ruler  over  the  goblin  tribe  in  general. 
His  name  often  occurs  in  ancient  Welsh  poetry.  An 
old  bard  of  the  fourteenth  century,  who,  led  away 
by  the  fairies,  rode  into  a  turf  bog  on  a  mountain 
one  dark  night,  called  it  the  '  fish-pond  of  Gwyn  ap 
Nudd,  a  palace  for  goblins  and  their  tribe.'  The  asso- 
ciation of  this  legendary  character  with  the  goblin 
fame  of  the  Vale  of  Neath  will  appear,  when  it  is  men- 
tioned that  Nudd  in  Welsh  is  pronounced  simply 
Neath,  and  not  otherwise.      As  for  the  fairy  queen, 

^  There  are  two  hills  in  Glamorganshire  called  by  this  name,  and 
others  elsewhere  in  Wales. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie, 


she  does  not  seem  to  have  any  existence  among 
Cambrian  gobUns.  It  is  nevertheless  thought  by 
Cambrian  etymologists,  that  Morgana  is  derived  from 
Mor  Gwyn,  the  white  maid  ;  and  the  Welsh  proper 
name  Morgan  can  hardly  fail  to  be  mentioned  in  this 
connection,  though  it  is  not  necessarily  significant. 

The  legend  of  St.  Collen,  in  which  Gwyn  ap  Nudd 
figures,  represents  him  as  king  of  Annwn  (hell,  or 
the  shadow  land)  as  well  as  of  the  fairies.^  Collen 
was  passing  a  period  of  mortification  as  a  hermit,  in 
a  cell  under  a  rock  on  a  mountain.  There  he  one  day 
overheard  two  men  talking  about  Gwyn  ap  Nudd, 
and  giving  him  this  twofold  kingly  character.  Collen 
cried  out  to  the  men  to  go  away  and  hold  their 
tongues,  instead  of  talking  about  devils.  For  this 
Collen  was  rebuked,  as  the  king  of  fairyland  had  an 
objection  to  such  language.  The  saint  was  sum- 
moned to  meet  the  king  on  the  hill-top  at  noon,  and 
after  repeated  refusals,  he  finally  went  there  ;  but  he 
carried  a  flask  of  holy  water  with  him.  '  And  when 
he  came  there  he  saw  the  fairest  castle  he  had  ever 
beheld,  and  around  it  the  best  appointed  troops,  and 
numbers  of  minstrels  and  every  kind  of  music  of 
voice  and  string,  and  steeds  with  youths  upon  them, 
the  comeliest  in  the  world,  and  maidens  of  elegant 
aspect,  sprightly,  light  of  foot,  of  graceful  apparel, 
and  in  the  bloom  of  youth  ;  and  every  magnificence 
becoming  the  court  of  a  puissant  sovereign.  And 
he  beheld  a  courteous  man  on  the  top  of  the  castle 
who  bade  him  enter,  saying  that  the  king  was 
waiting  for  him  to  come  to  meat.  And  Collen  went 
into  the  castle,  and  when  he  came  there  the  king 
was  sitting  in  a  golden  chair.  And  he  welcomed 
Collen  honourably,  and  desired  him  to  eat,  assuring 
him  that  besides  what  he  saw,  he  should  have  the 

^  '  Greal '  (8vo.  London,  1805),  p.  337. 


8  British  Goblins. 


most  luxurious  of  every  dainty  and  delicacy  that  the 
mind  could  desire,  and  should  be  supplied  with 
every  drink  and  liquor  that  the  heart  could  wish  ; 
and  that  there  should  be  in  readiness  for  him  every 
luxury  of  courtesy  and  service,  of  banquet  and  of 
honourable  entertainment,  of  rank  and  of  presents, 
and  every  respect  and  welcome  due  to  a  man  of  his 
wisdom.  ''  I  will  not  eat  the  leaves  of  the  trees," 
said  Collen.  "  Didst  thou  ever  see  men  of  better 
equipment  than  these  of  red  and  blue  ?"  asked  the 
king.  "  Their  equipment  is  good  enough,"  said 
Collen,  *'  for  such  equipment  as  it  is."  '*  What  kind 
of  equipment  is  that  ?  "  said  the  king.  Then  said 
Collen,  "  The  red  on  the  one  part  signifies  burn- 
ing, and  the  blue  on  the  other  signifies  coldness." 
And  with  that  Collen  drew  out  his  flask  and  threw 
the  holy  water  on  their  heads,  whereupon  they 
vanished  from  his  sight,  so  that  there  was  neither 
castle  nor  troops,  nor  men,  nor  maidens,  nor  music, 
nor  song,  nor  steeds,  nor  youths,  nor  banquet,  nor 
the  appearance  of  anything  whatever  but  the  green 

hillocks.' 

V. 

A  third  form  of  Welsh  popular  belief  as  to  the 
whereabouts  of  fairy-land  corresponds  with  the 
Avalon  of  the  Arthurian  legends.  The  green 
meadows  of  the  sea,  called  in  the  triads  Gwerddonau 
Llion,  are  the 

Green  fairy  islands,  reposing. 
In  sunlight  and  beauty  on  ocean's  calm  breast.^ 

Many  extraordinary  superstitions   survive  with  re 
gard  to  these  islands.     They  were  supposed  to  be 
the  abode  of  the  souls  of  certain  Druids,  who,  not 
holy  enough  to  enter  the  heaven  of  the  Christians, 
were  still  not  wicked  enough  to  be  condemned  to 

^  Parry's  '  Welsh  Melodies.' 


d 


The  Realm  of  Faerie. 


the  tortures  of  annv/n,  and  so  were  accorded  a  place 
in  this  romantic  sort  of  purgatorial  paradise.  In  the 
fifth  century  a  voyage  was  made,  by  the  British 
king  Gavran,  in  search  of  these  enchanted  islands  ; 
with  his  family  he  sailed  away  into  the  unknown 
waters,  and  was  never  heard  of  more.  This  voyage 
is  commemorated  in  the  triads  as  one  of  the  Three 
Losses  by  Disappearance,  the  two  others  being 
Merlin's  and  Madog's.  Merlin  sailed  away  in  a 
ship  of  glass  ;  Madog  sailed  in  search  of  America  ; 
and  neither  returned,  but  both  disappeared  for  ever. 
In  Pembrokeshire  and  southern  Carmarthenshire 
are  to  be  found  traces  of  this  belief  There  are 
sailors  on  that  romantic  coast  who  still  talk  of  the 
green  meadows  of  enchantment  lying  in  the  Irish 
channel  to  the  west  of  Pembrokeshire.  Sometimes 
they  are  visible  to  the  eyes  of  mortals  for  a  brief 
space,  when  suddenly  they  vanish.  There  are 
traditions  of  sailors  who,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
present  century,  actually  went  ashore  on  the  fairy 
islands — not  knowing  that  they  were  such,  until  they 
returned  to  their  boats,  when  they  were  filled  with 
awe  at  seeing  the  islands  disappear  from  their  sight, 
neither  sinking  in  the  sea,  nor  floating  away  upon 
the  waters,  but  simply  vanishing  suddenly.  The 
fairies  inhabiting  these  islands  are  said  to  have 
regularly  attended  the  markets  at  Milford  Haven 
and  Laugharne.  They  made  their  purchases  with- 
out speaking,,  laid  down  their  money  and  departed, 
always  leaving  the  exact  sum  required,  which  they 
seemed  to  know,  without  asking  the  price  of  any- 
thing. Sometimes  they  were  invisible,  but  they 
were  often  seen,  by  sharp-eyed  persons.  There  was 
always  one  special  butcher  at  Milford  Haven  upon 
whom  the  fairies  bestowed  their  patronage,  instead 
of  distributing  their  favours  indiscriminately.     The 


lO 


British  Goblins. 


Milford  Haven  folk  could  see  the  green  fairy  Islands 
distinctly,  lying  out  a  short  distance  from  land  ;  and 
the  general  belief  was  that  they  were  densely  peopled 
with  fairies.  It  was  also  said  that  the  latter  went  to 
and  fro  between  the  islands  and  the  shore  through 
a  subterranean  gallery  under  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 


FAIRIES    MARKETING   AT   LAUGHARNE. 


That  isolated  cape  which  forms  the  county  of 
Pembroke  was  looked  upon  as  a  land  of  mystery  by 
the  rest  of  Wales  long  after  it  had  been  settled  by 
the  Flemings  in  1 113.  A  secret  veil  was  supposed 
to  cover  this  sea-girt  promontory ;  the  inhabitants 
talked  in  an  unintelligible  jargon  that  was  neither 
English,  nor  French,  nor  Welsh  ;  and  out  of  its  misty 
darkness  came  fables  of  wondrous  sort,  and  accounts 
of  miracles  marvellous  beyond  belief.  Mythology 
and  Christianity  spoke  together  from  this  strange 
country,  and  one  could  not  tell  at  which  to  be  most 
amazed,  the  pagan  or  the  priest. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  1 1 


CHAPTER  II. 

Classification  of  Welsh  Fairies — General  Designation — Habits  of  the 
Tylwyth  Teg — Ellyllon,  or  Elves — Shakspeare's  Use  of  Welsh 
Folk-Lore — Rowli  Pugh  and  the  Ellyll — Household  Story  Roots — 
The  Ellylldan — The  Pooka — Puck  Valley,  Breconshire — Where 
Shakspeare  got  his  Puck— Pwca  'r  Trwyn — Usual  Form  of 
the  Pooka  Story — Coblynau,  or  Mine  Fairies— The  Knockers — 
Miners'  Superstitions — Basilisks  and  Fire  Fiends-=-a  Fairy  Coal- 
mine— The  Dwarfs  of  Cae  Caled — Counterparts  of  the  Coblynau 
— The  Bwbach,  or  Household  Fairy — Legend  of  the  Bwbach  and 
the  Preacher — Bogies  and  Hobgoblins — Carrying  Mortals  through 
the  Air — Counterparts  and  Originals. 

I. 

Fairies  being  creatures  of  the  imagination,  it  is  not 
possible  to  classify  them  by  fixed  and  immutable 
rules.  In  the  exact  sciences,  there  are  laws  which 
never  vary,  or  if  they  vary,  their  very  eccentricity  is 
governed  by  precise  rules.  Even  in  the  largest 
sense,  comparative  mythology  must  demean  itself 
modestly  in  order  to  be  tolerated  in  the  severe 
company  of  the  sciences.  In  presenting  his  subjects, 
therefore,  the  writer  in  this  field  can  only  govern 
himself  by  the  purpose  of  orderly  arrangement.  To 
secure  the  maximum  of  system,  for  the  sake  of  the 
student  who  employs  the  work  for  reference  and 
comparison,  with  the  minimum  of  dullness,  for  the 
sake  of  the  general  reader,  is  perhaps  the  limit  of 
a  reasonable  ambition.  Keightley^  divides  into 
four  classes  the  Scandinavian  elements  of  popular 
belief  as  to  fairies,  viz. :  i.  The  Elves  ;  2.  The 
Dwarfs,  or  Trolls;  3.  The  Nisses;  and  4.  The  Necks, 

^  '  Fairy  Mythology '  (Bohn's  Ed.),  78. 


12  British  Goblins. 


Mermen,  and  Mermaids.  How  entirely  arbitrary 
this  division  is,  the  student  of  Scandinavian  folk-lore 
at  once  perceives.  Yet  it  is  perhaps  as  satisfactory 
as  another.  The  fairies  of  Wales  may  be  divided 
into  five  classes,  if  analogy  be  not  too  sharply 
insisted  on.  Thus  we  have,  i.  The  Ellyllon,  or 
elves;  2.  The  Coblynau,  or  mine  fairies;  3.  The 
Bwbachod,  or  household  fairies  ;  4.  The  Gwragedd 
Annwn,  or  fairies  of  the  lakes  and  streams  ;  and 
5.  The  Gwyllion,  or  mountain  fairies. 

The  modern  Welsh  name  for  fairies  is  y  Tylwyth 
Teg,  the  fair  folk  or  family.  This  is  sometimes 
lengthened  into  y  Tylwyth  Teg  yn  y  Coed,  the 
fair  family  in  the  wood,  or  Tylwyth  Teg  y  Mwn, 
the  fair  folk  of  the  mine.  They  are  seen  dancing 
in  moonlight  nights  on  the  velvety  grass,  clad  in 
airy  and  flowing  robes  of  blue,  green,  white,  or 
scarlet — details  as  to  colour  not  usually  met,  I  think, 
in  accounts  of  fairies.  They  are  spoken  of  as 
bestowing  blessings  on  those  mortals  whom  they 
select  to  be  thus  favoured ;  and  again  are  called 
Bendith  y  Mamau,  or  their  mothers  blessing,  that 
is  to  say,  good  little  children  whom  it  is  a  pleasure 
to  know.  To  name  the  fairies  by  a  harsh  epithet 
is  to  invoke  their  anger ;  to  speak  of  them  in  flatter- 
ing phrase  is  to  propitiate  their  good  offices.  The 
student  of  fairy  mythology  perceives  in  this  pro- 
pitiatory mode  of  speech  a  fact  of  wide  significance. 
It  can  be  traced  in  numberless  lands,  and  back  to 
the  beginning  of  human  history,  among  the  cloud- 
hung  peaks  of  Central  Asia.  The  Greeks  spoke 
of  the  furies  as  the  Eumenides,  or  gracious  ones  ; 
Highlanders  mentioned  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  uncover 
to  the  gibbet  and  call  it  '  the  kind  gallows ;'  the 
Dayak  will  not  name  the  small-pox,  but  calls  it  '  the 
chief;'  the  Laplander  calls  the  bear  'the  old  man 


The  Realm  of  Faeine.  13 

with  the   fur  coat ;'  in  Ammam  the  tiger  is  called 

'  orrandfather ;'   and  it   is  thought  that  the   maxim, 

'  Speak  only  good  of  the  dead,'  came  originally  from 

the  notion  of  propitiating  the  ghost  of  the  departed,^ 

who,   in    laying  off  this   mortal  garb,   had    become 

endowed   with    new   powers   of    harming    his    late 

acquaintance. 

II. 

The  Ellyllon  are  the  pigmy  elves  who  haunt  the 
groves  and  valleys,  and  correspond  pretty  closely 
with  the  English  elves.  The  English  name  was 
probably  derived  from  the  Welsh  el,  a  spirit,  elf,  an 
element ;  there  is  a  whole  brood  of  words  of  this 
class  in  the  Welsh  language,  expressing  every 
variety  of  flowing,  gliding,  spirituality,  devilry, 
angelhood,  and  goblinism.  Ellyllon  (the  plural  of 
ellyll),  is  also  doubtless  allied  with  the  Hebrew 
Elilim,  having  with  it  an  identity  both  of  origin  and 
meaning.^  The  poet  Davydd  ab  Gwilym,  in  a 
humorous  account  of  his  troubles  in  a  mist,  in  the 
year  1340,  says  : 

Yr  ydoedd  ym  mhob  gobant 
Ellyllon  mingeimion  gant. 

There  was  in  every  hollow 
A  hundred  wrymouthed  elves. 

The  hollows,  or  little  dingles,  are  still  the  places 
where  the  peasant,  belated  on  his  homeward  way 
from  fair  or  market,  looks  for  the  ellyllon,  but  fails 
to  find  them.  Their  food  is  specified  in  Welsh 
folk-lore  as  fairy  butter  and  fairy  victuals,  ymenyn 
tylwyth  teg  and  bwyd  ellyllon  ;  the  latter  the  toad- 
stool, or  poisonous  mushroom,  and  the  former  a 
butter-resembling  substance  found  at  great  depths 
in  the   crevices  of  limestone  rocks,  in  sinking  for 

^  John  Fiske,  '  Myths  and  Myth-makers,'  223. 
2  Pughe's  '  Welsh  Dictionary.'     (Denbigh,  1866.) 


14  British  Goblins. 


lead  ore.  Their  gloves,  menyg  ellyllon,  are  the 
bells  of  the  digitalis,  or  fox-glove,  the  leaves  of 
which  are  well  known  to  be  a  strong  sedative. 
Their  queen — for  though  there  is  no  fairy-queen  in 
the  large  sense  that  Gwyn  ap  Nudd  is  the  fairy-king, 
there  is  a  queen  of  the  elves — is  none  other  than  the 
Shakspearean  fairy  spoken  of  by  Mercutio,  who 
comes 

In  shape  no  bigger  than  an  agate- stone 
On  the  forefinger  of  an  alderman.^ 

Shakspeare's  use  of  Welsh  folk-lore,  it  should  be 
noted,  was  extensive  and  peculiarly  faithful. 
Keightley  in  his  '  Fairy  Mythology '  rates  the  bard 
soundly  for  his  inaccurate  use  of  English  fairy 
superstitions  ;  but  the  reproach  will  not  apply  as 
regards  Wales.  From  his  Welsh  informant  Shak- 
speare  got  Mab,  which  is  simply  the  Cymric  for  a 
little  child,  and  the  root^  of  numberless  words  signi- 
fying babyish,  childish,  love  for  children  (mabgar), 
kitten  (mabgath),  prattling  (mabiaith),  and  the  like, 
most  notable  of  all  which  in  this  connection  is 
rrvabinogi,  the  singular  of  Mabinogion,  the  romantic 
tales  of  enchantment  told  to  the  young  in  by-gone 

ages. 

III. 

In  the  Huntsman's  Rest  Inn  at  Peterstone-super- 
Ely,  near  Cardiff,  sat  a  group  of  humble  folk  one 
afternoon,  when  I  chanced  to  stop  there  to  rest 
myself  by  the  chimney-side,  after  a  long  walk 
through  green  lanes.  The  men  were  drinking 
their  tankards  of  ale  and  smoking  their  long  clay 
pipes ;  and  they  were  talking  about  their  dogs  and 
horses,  the  crops,  the  hard  times,  and  the  prospect 
of  bettering  themselves  by  emigration  to  America. 
On   this   latter  theme  I    was  able  to  make  myself 

^  '  Romeo  and  Juliet,'  Act  II.,  Sc.  4. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  15 

interesting,  and  acquaintance  was  thereupon  easily 
established  on  a  friendly  footing.  I  led  the  con- 
versation into  the  domain  of  folk-lore  ;  and  this 
book  is  richer  in  illustration  on  many  a  page,  in  con- 
sequence.    Among  others,  this  tale  was  told  : 

On  a  certain  farm  in  Glamorganshire  lived  Rowli 
Pugh,  who  was  known  far  and  wide  for  his  evil  luck. 
Nothing  prospered  that  he  turned  his  hand  to  ;  his 
crops  proved  poor,  though  his  neighbours'  might  be 
good;  his  roof  leaked  in  spite  of  all  his  mending; 
his  walls  remained  damp  when  every  one  else's  walls 
were  dry  ;  and  above  all,  his  wife  was  so  feeble  she 
could  do  no  work.  His  fortunes  at  last  seemed  so 
hard  that  he  resolved  to  sell  out  and  clear  out,  no 
matter  at  what  loss,  and  try  to  better  himself  in 
another  country — not  by  going  to  America,  for  there 
was  no  America  in  those  days.  Well,  and  if  there 
was,  the  poor  Welshman  didn't  know  it.  So  as 
Rowli  was  sitting  on  his  wall  one  day,  hard  by  his 
cottage,  musing  over  his  sad  lot,  he  was  accosted  by 
a  little  man  who  asked  him  what  was  the  matter. 
Rowli  looked  around  in  surprise,  but  before  he  could 
answer  the  ellyll  said  to  him  with  a  grin,  '  There, 
there,  hold  your  tongue,  I  know  more  about  you 
than  you  ever  dreamed  of  knowing.  You're  in, 
trouble,  and  you're  going  away.  But  you  may  stay, 
now  I've  spoken  to  you.  Only  bid  your  good  wife 
leave  the  candle  burning  when  she  goes  to  bed,  and 
say  no  more  about  it.'  With  this  the  ellyll  kicked 
up  his  heels  and  disappeared.  Of  course  the  farmer 
did  as  he  was  bid,  and  from  that  day  he  prospered. 
Every  night  Catti  Jones,  his  wife,^  set  the  candle 
out,  swept  the  hearth,  and  went  to  bed ;  and 
every  night   the    fairies   would    come  and    do    her 

*  Until  recently,  Welsh  women  retained  their  maiden  names  even 
after  marriasre. 


i6 


British  Goblins. 


baking   and  brewing,    her   washing   and   mending, 
sometimes    even    furnlshinof    their  own   tools   and 


materials.     The   farmer  was  now  always  clean   of 


ROWLI    AND    THE   ELLYLL. 


linen  and  whole  of  garb  ;  he  had  good  bread  and 
good  beer ;  he  felt  like  a  new  man,  and  worked 
like  one.  Everything  prospered  with  him  now  as 
nothing  had  before.     His  crops  were  good,  his  barns 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  1 7 

were  tidy,  his  cattle  were  sleek,  his  pigs  the  fattest 
in  the  parish.  So  things  went  on  for  three  years. 
One  night  Catti  Jones  took  it  into  her  head  that  she 
must  have  a  peep  at  the  fair  family  who  did  her 
work  for  her  ;  and  curiosity  conquering  prudence, 
she  arose  while  Rowli  Pugh  lay  snoring,  and  peeped 
through  a  crack  in  the  door.  There  they  were,  a 
jolly  company  of  ellyllon,  working  away  like  mad, 
and  laughing  and  dancing  as  madly  as  they  worked. 
Catti  was  so  amused  that  in  spite  of  herself  she  fell 
to  laughing  too ;  and  at  sound  of  her  voice  the 
ellyllon  scattered  like  mist  before  the  wind,  leaving 
the  room  empty.  They  never  came  back  any  more  ; 
but  the  farmer  was  now  prosperous,  and  his  bad  luck 
never  returned  to  plague  him. 

The  resemblance  of  this  tale  to  many  he  has 
encountered  will  at  once  be  noted  by  the  student  of 
comparative  folk-lore.  He  will  also  observe  that  it 
trenches  on  the  domain  of  another  class  in  my  own 
enumeration,  viz.,  that  of  the  Bwbach,  or  household 
fairy.  This  is  the  stone  over  which  one  is  constantly 
stumbling  in  this  field  of  scientific  research.  Mr. 
Baring-Gould's  idea  that  all  household  tales  are 
reducable  to  a  primeval  root  (in  the  same  or  a 
similar  manner  that  we  trace  words  to  their  roots), 
though  most  ingeniously  illustrated  by  him,  is  con- 
stantly involved  in  trouble  of  the  sort  mentioned. 
He  encounters  the  obstacle  which  lies  in  the  path 
of  all  who  walk  this  way.  His  roots  sometimes  get 
inextricably  gnarled  and  intertwisted  with  each 
other.  But  some  effort  of  this  sort  is  imperative, 
and  we  must  do  the  best  we  can  with  our  mate- 
rials. Stories  of  the  class  of  Grimm's  Witchel- 
manner  (Kinder  und  Hausmarchen)  will  be  recalled 
by  the  legend  of  Rowli  Pugh  as  here  told.  The 
German  Hausmanner  are  elves  of  a  domestic  turn, 

B 


1 8  ■       British  Goblins. 


sometimes  mischievous  and  sometimes  useful,  but 
usually  looking  for  some  material  reward  for  their 
labours.  So  with  the  English  goblin  named  by 
Milton  in  '  L' Allegro,'  which  drudges.  ., 


To  earn  his  cream-bowl  duly  set. 


« 


IV. 

The  Ellylldan  is  a  species  of  elf  exactly  corre- 
sponding to  the  English  Will-o'-wisp,  the  Scandi- 
navian Lyktgubhe,  and  the  Breton  Sand  Yan  y  Tad. 
The  Welsh  word  dan  means  fire ;  dan  also  means 
a  lure ;  the  compound  word  suggests  a  luring  elf- 
fire.  The  Breton  Sand  Yan  y  Tad  (St.  John  and 
Father)^  is  a  double  ignis  fatuus  fairy,  carrying 
at  its  finger-ends  five  lights,  which  spin  round  like 
a  wheel.  The  negroes  of  the  southern  seaboard 
states  of  America  invest  this  goblin  with  an  exagge- 
ration of  the  horrible  peculiarly  their  own.  They 
call  it  Jack-muh-lantern,  and  describe  it  as  a  hideous 
creature  five  feet  in  height,  with  goggle-eyes  and 
huge  mouth,  its  body  covered  with  long  hair,  and 
which  goes  leaping  and  bounding  through  the  air 
like  a  gigantic  grasshopper.  This  frightful  appari- 
tion is  stronger  than  any  man,  and  swifter  than  any 
horse,  and  compels  its  victims  to  follow  it  into  the 
swamp,  where  it  leaves  them  to  die.  ^ 

Like  all  goblins  of  this  class,  the  Ellylldan  was;^ 
of  course,  seen  dancing  about  in  marshy  grounds, 
into  which  it  led  the  belated  wanderer;  but,  as  a 
distinguished  resident  in  Wales  has  wittily  said,  the 
poor  elf  '  is  now  starved  to  death,  and  his  breath  is 
taken  from  him ;  his  light  is  quenched  for  ever  by 
the  improving  farmer,  who  has  drained  the  bog; 
and,  instead  of  the  rank  decaying  vegetation  of  the 

*  Keightley,  '  Fairy  Mythology,'  441. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  1 9 

autumn,  where  bitterns  and  snipes  delighted  to 
secrete  themselves,  crops  of  corn  and  potatoes  are 
grown/  ^ 

A  poetic  account  by  a  modern  character,  called 
lolo  the  Bard,  is  thus  condensed  :  *  One  night, 
when  the  moon  had  gone  down,  as  I  was  sitting  on 
a  hill-top,  the  Ellylldan  passed  by.  I  followed  it 
into  the  valley.  We  crossed  plashes  of  water  where 
the  tops  of  bulrushes  peeped  above,  and  where  the 
lizards  lay  silently  on  the  surface,  looking  at  us  with 
an  unmoved  stare.  The  frogs  sat  croaking  and 
swelling  their  sides,  but  ceased  as  they  raised  a 
melancholy  eye  at  the  Ellylldan.  The  wild  fowl, 
sleeping  with  their  heads  under  their  wings,  made  a 
low  cackle  as  we  went  by.  A  bittern  awoke  and 
rose  with  a  scream  into  the  air.  I  felt  the  trail  of 
the  eels  and  leeches  peering  about,  as  I  waded 
through  the  pools.  On  a  slimy  stone  a  toad  sat 
sucking  poison  from  the  night  air.  The  Ellylldan 
glowed  bravely  in  the  slumbering  vapours.  It  rose 
airily  over  the  bushes  that  drooped  in  the  ooze. 
When  I  lingered  or  stopped,  it  waited  for  me,  but 
dwindled  gradually  away  to  a  speck  barely  per- 
ceptible. But  as  soon  as  I  moved  on  again,  it 
would  shoot  up  suddenly  and  glide  before.  A  bat 
came  flying  round  and  round  us,  flapping  its  wings 
heavily.  Screech-owls  stared  silently  at  us  with 
their  broad  eyes.  Snails  and  worms  crawled  about. 
The  fine  threads  of  a  spider's  web  gleamed  in  the 
light  of  the  Ellylldan.  Suddenly  it  shot  away  from 
me,  and  in  the  distance  joined  a  ring  of  its  fellows, 
who  went  dancing  slowly  round  and  round  in  a 
goblin  dance,  which  sent  me  off  to  sleep.'  ^ 

^  Hon.  W.  O.  Stanley,  M.P.,  in  *  Notes  and  Queries.' 
2  *The  Vale  of  Glamorgan.'     (London,  1839.) 

B    2 


20  British  Goblins. 


Pwca,  or  Pooka,  is  but  another  name  for  the  Ellyll- 
dan,  as  our  Puck  is  another  name  for  the  Will-o'- 
wisp  ;  but  in  both  cases  the  shorter  term  has  a  more 
poetic  flavour  and  a  wider  latitude.  The  name 
Puck  was  originally  applied  to  the  whole  race  of 
English  fairies,  and  there  still  be  few  of  the  realm 
who  enjoy  a  wider  popularity  than  Puck,  in  spite  of 
his  mischievous  attributes.  Part  of  this  popularity 
is  due  to  the  poets,  especially  to  Shakspeare.  I 
have  alluded  to  the  bard's  accurate  knowledge  of 
Vv^elsh  folk-lore  ;  the  subject  is  really  one  of  unique 
interest,  in  view  of  the  inaccuracy  charged  upon  him 
as  to  the  English  fairyland.  There  is  a  Welsh 
tradition  to  the  effect  that  Shakspeare  received  his 
knowledge  of  the  Cambrian  fairies  from  his  friend 
Richard  Price,  son  of  Sir  John  Price,  of  the  priory 
of  Brecon.  It  is  even  claimed  that  Cwm  Pwca,  or 
Puck  Valley,  a  part  of  the  romantic  glen  of  the 
Clydach,  in  Breconshire,  is  the  original  scene  of  the 
*  Midsummer  Night's  Dream  ' — a  fancy  as  light  and 
airy  as  Puck  himself.^  Anyhow,  there  Cwm  Pwca 
is,  and  in  the  sylvan  days,  before  Frere and  Powells 
ironworks  were  set  up  there,  it  is  said  to  have  been 
as  full  of  goblins  as  a  Methodist's  head  is  of  piety. 
And  there  are  in  Wales  other  places  bearing  like 
names,  where  Pwca's  pranks  are  well  remembered 
by  old  inhabitants.    The  range  given  to  the  popular 

*  According  to  a  letter  written  by  the  poet  Campbell  to  Mrs. 
Fletcher,  in  1833,  and  published  in  her  Autobiography,  it  was  thought 
Shakspeare  went  in  person  to  see  this  magic  valley.  '  It  is  no  later  than 
yesterday,' wrote  Campbell, 'that  I  discovered  a  probability — almost 
near  a  certainty — that  Shakspeare  visited  friends  in  the  very  town 
(Brecon  in  Wales)  where  Mrs.  Siddons  was  born,  and  that  he  there 
found  in  a  neighbouring  glen,  called  "  The  Valley  of  Fairy  Puck,"  the 
principal  machinery  of  his  "  Midsummer  Night's  Dream."' 


The  Realm  of  Faerie. 


21 


fancy    in    Wales    is    expressed    with    fidelity    by 
Shakspeare  s  words  in  the  mouth  of  Puck  : 

I'll  follow  you,  I'll  lead  you  about  a  round, 

Through  bog,  through  bush,  through  brake,  through  brier, 

Sometime  a  horse  I'll  be,  sometime  a  hound, 

A  hog,  a  headless  bear,  sometmie  a  fire ; 

And  neigh,  and  bark,  and  grunt,  and  roar,  and  burn, 

Like  horse,  hound,  hog,  bear,  fire,  at  every  turn.^ 

The  various  stories  I  have  encountered  bear  out 
these  details  almost  without  an  omission. 

In  his  own  proper  character,  however,  Pwca  has 
a  sufficiently  grotesque  elfish  aspect.  It  is  stated 
that  a  Welsh  peasant  who  was  asked   to  give  an 


idea  of  the  appearance  of  Pwca,  drew  the   above 
figure  with  a  bit  of  coal. 

^  '  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,'  Act  III.,  Sc.  3. 


22  British  Goblins. 


A  servant  girl  who  attended  to  the  cattle  on  the 
Trwyn  farm,  near  Abergwyddon,  used  to  take  food 
to  '  Master  Pwca,'  as  she  called  the  elf.  A  bowl 
of  fresh  milk  and  a  slice  of  white  bread  were  the 
component  parts  of  the  goblin's  repast,  and  were 
placed  on  a  certain  spot  where  he  got  them.  One 
night  the  girl,  moved  by  the  spirit  of  mischief,  drank 
the  milk  and  ate  most  of  the  bread,  leaving  for 
Master  Pwca  only  water  and  crusts.  Next  morn- 
ing she  found  that  the  fastidious  fairy  had  left  the 
food  untouched.  Not  long  after,  as  the  girl  was 
passing  the  lonely  spot,  where  she  had  hitherto  left 
Pwca  his  food,  she  was  seized  under  the  arm  pits 
by  fleshly  hands  (which,  however,  she  could  not  see), 
and  subjected  to  a  castigation  of  a  most  mortifying 
character.  Simultaneously  there  fell  upon  her  ear 
in  good  set  Welsh  a  warning  not  to  repeat  her 
offence  on  peril  of  still  worse  treatment.  This 
story  'is  thoroughly  believed  in  there  to  this 
day.'^ 

I  visited  the  scene  of  the  story,  a  farm  near 
Abergwyddon  (now  called  Abercarne),  and  heard  a 
great  deal  more  of  the  exploits  of  that  particular 
Pwca,  to  which  I  will  refer  again.  The  most  singular 
fact  of  the  matter  is  that  although  at  least  a  century 
has  elapsed,  and  some  say  several  centuries,  since 
the  exploits  in  question,  you  cannot  find  a  Welsh 
peasant  in  the  parish  but  knows  all  about  Pwca  r 
Trwyn. 

VI. 

The  most  familiar  form  of  the  Pwca  story  is  one 
which  I  have  encountered  in  several  localities,  vary- 
ing so  little  in  its  details  that  each  account  would 
be  interchangeable  with  another  by  the  alteration  of 


Archaeologia  Cambrensis,'  4th  Se.,  vi.,  175.    (1875.) 


I 


The  Realm  of  Faerie. 


^3 


local  names. 
This  form 
presents  a 
peasant  who 
is  returning 
home      from 


t: 


his  work,  or  from  a  fair,  when  he  sees 
a  light  travelling  before  him.  Look- 
ing closer  he  perceives  that  it  is  carried 
by  a  dusky  little  figure,  holding  a  lantern 
or  candle  at  arm's  length  over  its  head. 
He  follows  it  for  several  miles,  and 
suddenly  finds  himself  on  the  brink  of  a 
frightful  precipice.  From  far  down 
below  there  rises  to  his  ears  the  sound 
of  a  foaming  torrent.  At  the  same 
moment  the  little  goblin  with  the  lantern 
springs  across  the  chasm,  alighting  on 
the  opposite  side ;  raises  the  light  again 


1A  '^'••^ 


COBLYNAU. 


24 


British  Goblins. 


high  over  its  head,  utters  a  loud  and  maHcious 
laugh,  blows  out  its  candle  and  disappears  up  the 
opposite  hill,  leaving  the  awestruck  peasant  to  get 
home  as  best  he  can. 

VII. 

Under  the  general  title  of  Coblynau  I  class  the 
fairies  which  haunt  the  mines,  quarries  and  under- 
ground regions  of  Wales,  corresponding  to  the 
cabalistic  Gnomes.  The  word  coblyn  has  the 
double  meaning  of  knocker  or  thumper  and  sprite 
or  fiend ;  and  may  it  not  be  the  original  of  goblin  ? 
It  is  applied  by  Welsh  miners  to  pigmy  fairies  which 
dwell  in  the  mines,  and  point  out,  by  a  peculiar 
knocking  or  rapping,  rich  veins  of  ore.  The  faith 
is  extended,  in  some  parts,  so  as  to  cover  the  indi- 
cation of  subterranean  treasures  generally,  in  caves 
and  secret  places  of  the  mountains.  The  cobly'nau 
are  described  as  being  about  half  a  yard  in  height 
and  very  ugly  to  look  upon,  but  extremely  good- 
natured,  and  warm  friends  of  the  miner.  Their 
dress  is  a  grotesque  imitation  of  the  miner's  garb, 
and  they  carry  tiny  hammers,  picks  and  lamps. 
They  work  busily,  loading  ore  in  buckets,  flitting 
about  the  shafts,  turning  tiny  windlasses,  and  pound- 
ing away  like  madmen,  but  really  accomplishing 
nothing  whatever.  They  have  been  known  to 
throw  stones  at  the  miners,  when  enraged  at  being 
lightly  spoken  of;  but  the  stones  are  harmless. 
Nevertheless,  all  miners  of  a  proper  spirit  refrain 
from  provoking  them,  because  their  presence  brings 
good  luck. 

VIII. 

Miners  are   possibly   no  more  superstitious  than 
other  men  of  equal  intelligence  ;  I  have  heard  some 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  25 

of  their  number  repel  indignantly  the  idea  that  they 
are  superstitious  at  all  ;  but  this  would  simply  be  to 
raise  them  above  the  level  of  our  common  humanity. 
There  is  testimony  enough,  besides,  to  support  my 
own  conclusions,  which  accredit  a  liberal  share  of 
credulity  to  the  mining  class.  The  Oswestry  Adver- 
tiser, a  short  time  ago,  recorded  the  fact  that,  at 
Cefn,  *a  woman  is  employed  as  messenger  at  one 
of  the  collieries,  and  as  she  commences  her  duty 
early  each  morning  she  meets  great  numbers  of 
colliers  going  to  their  work.  Some  of  them,  we  are 
gravely  assured,  consider  it  a  bad  omen  to  meet  a 
woman  first  thing  in  the  morning ;  and  not  having 
succeeded  in  deterring  her  from  her  work  by  other 
means,  they  waited  upon  the  manager  and  declared 
that  they  should  remain  at  home  unless  the  woman 
was  dismissed.'  This  was  in  1874.  In  June,  1878, 
the  South  Wales  Daily  News  recorded  a  superstition 
of  the  quarrymen  at  Penrhyn,  where  some  thousands 
of  men  refused  to  work  on  Ascension  Day.  '  This 
refusal  did  not  arise  out  of  any  reverential  feeling, 
but  from  an  old  and  wide-spread  superstition,  which 
has  lingered  in  that  district  for  years,  that  if  work 
is  continued  on  Ascension  Day  an  accident  will 
certainly  follow.  A  few  years  ago  the  agents 
persuaded  the  men  to  break  through  the  supersti- 
tion, and  there  were  accidents  each  year — a  not 
unlikely  occurrence,  seeing  the  extent  of  works 
carried  on,  and  the  dangerous  nature  of  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  men.  This  year,  however,  the  men,  one 
and  all,  refused  to  work.'  These  are  examples 
dealing  with  considerable  numbers  of  the  mining 
class,  and  are  quoted  in  this  instance  as  being  more 
significant  than  individual  cases  would  be.  Of  these 
last  I    have  encountered  many.     Yet  I  should  be 


26  British  Goblins. 


sorry  if  any  reader  were  to  conclude  from  all  this 
that  Welsh  miners  are  not  in  the  main  intelligent, 
church-going,  newspaper-reading  men.  They  are 
so,  I  think,  even  beyond  the  common.  Their  super- 
stitions, therefore,  like  those  of  the  rest  of  us,  must 
be  judged  as  *a  thing  apart,'  not  to  be  reconciled 
with  intelligence  and  education,  but  co-existing  with  ^ 
them.  Absolute  freedom  from  superstition  can 
come  only  with  a  degree  of  scientific  culture  not  j^ 
yet  reached  by  mortal  man.  ^ 

It  can  hardly  be  cause  for  wonder  that  the  miner 
should  be  superstitious.  His  life  is  passed  in  a 
dark  and  gloomy  region,  fathoms  below  the  earth's 
green  surface,  surrounded  by  walls  on  which  dim 
lamps  shed  a  fitful  light.  It  is  not  surprising  that 
imagination  (and  the  Welsh  imagination  is  pecu- 
liarly vivid)  should  conjure  up  the  faces  and  forms 
of  gnomes  and  coblynau,  of  phantoms  and  fairy 
men.  When  they  hear  the  mysterious  thumping 
which  they  know  is  not  produced  by  any  human 
being,  and  when  in  examining  the  place  where  the 
noise  was  heard  they  find  there  are  really  valuable 
indications  of  ore,  the  sturdiest  incredulity  must 
sometimes  be  shaken.  Science  points  out  that 
the  noise  may  be  produced  by  the  action  of  water 
upon  the  loose  stones  in  fissures  and  pot-holes  of 
the  mountain  limestone,  and  does  actually  suggest 
the  presence  of  metals. 

In  the  days  before  a  Priestley  had  caught  and 
bottled  that  demon  which  exists  in  the  shape  of 
carbonic  acid  gas,  when  the  miner  was  smitten  dead 
by  an  invisible  foe  in  the  deep  bowels  of  the  earth 
it  was  natural  his  awe-struck  companions  should 
ascribe  the  mysterious  blow  to  a  supernatural 
enemy.     When  the  workman  was  assailed  suddenly 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  27 

by  what  we  now  call  fire-damp,  which  hurled  him 
and  his  companions  right  and  left  upon  the  dark 
rocks,  scorching,  burning,  and  killing,  those  who 
survived  were  not  likely  to  question  the  existence 
of  the  mine  fiend.  Hence  arose  the  superstition — 
now  probably  quite  extinct — of  basilisks  in  the 
mines,  which  destroyed  with  their  terrible  gaze. 
When  the  explanation  came,  that  the  thing  which 
killed  the  miner  was  what  he  breathed,  not  what  he 
saw  ;  and  when  chemistry  took  the  fire-damp  from 
the  domain  of  faerie,  the  basilisk  and  the  fire  fiend 
had  not  a  leg  to  stand  on.  The  explanation  of  the 
Knockers  is  more  recent,  and  less  palpable  and 
convincing. 

IX. 

The  Coblynau  are  always  given  the  form  of  dwarfs, 
in  the  popular  fancy ;  v/herever  seen  or  heard,  they 
are  believed  to  have  escaped  from  the  mines  or  the 
secret  regions  of  the  mountains.  Their  homes 
are  hidden  from  mortal  vision.  When  encountered, 
either  in  the  mines  or  on  the  mountains,  they  have 
strayed  from  their  special  abodes,  which  are  as 
spectral  as  themselves.  There  is  at  least  one 
account  extant  of  their  secret  territory  having  been 
revealed  to  mortal  eyes.  I  find  it  in  a  quaint  volume 
(of  which  I  shall  have  more  to  say),  printed  at 
Newport,  Monmouthshire,  in  1813.^  It  relates  that 
one  William  Evans,  of  Hafodafel,  while  crossing 
the  Beacon  Mountain  very  early  in  the  morning, 
passed  a  fairy  coal  mine,  where  fairies  were  busily 
at  work.  Some  were  cutting  the  coal,  some  carrying 
it  to  fill  the  sacks,  some  raising  the  loads  upon  the 

1  '  A  Relation  of  Apparitions  of  Spirits  in  the  County  of  Monmouth 
and  the  Principality  of  Wales.'  By  Rev.  Edmund  Jones  of  the 
Tranch.     (Newport,  1813.) 


28  British  Goblins. 


horses'  backs,  and  so  on  ;  but  all  in  the  completest 
silence.  He  thought  this  'a  wonderful  extra  natural 
thing,'  and  was  considerably  impressed  by  it,  for 
well  he  knew  that  there  really  was  no  coal  mine  at 
that  place.  He  was  a  person  of '  undoubted  veracity,' 
and  what  is  more,  '  a  great  man  in  the  world — above 
telling  an  untruth.' 

That  the  Coblynau  sometimes  wandered  far  from 
home,  the  same  chronicler  testifies ;  but  on  these 
occasions  they  were  taking  a  holiday.  Egbert 
Williams,  'a  pious  young  gentleman  of  Denbigh- 
shire, then  at  school,'  was  one  day  playing  in  a  field 
called  Cae  Caled,  in  the  parish  of  Bodfari,  with 
three  girls,  one  of  whom  was  his  sister.  Near  the 
stile  beyond  Lanelwyd  House  they  saw  a  company 
of  fifteen  or  sixteen  coblynau  engaged  in  dancing 
madly.  They  were  in  the  middle  of  the  field,  about 
seventy  yards  from  the  spectators,  and  they  danced 
something  after  the  manner  of  Morris-dancers,  but 
with  a  wildness  and  swiftness  in  their  motions.  They 
were  clothed  in  red  like  British  soldiers,  and  wore 
red  handkerchiefs  spotted  with  yellow  wound  round 
their  heads.  And  a  strange  circumstance  about 
them  was  that  although  they  were  almost  as  big 
as  ordinary  men,  yet  they  had  unmistakably  the 
appearance  of  dwarfs,  and  one  could  call  them 
nothing  but  dwarfs.  Presently  one  of  them  left  the 
company  and  ran  towards  the  group  near  the  stile, 
who  were  direfully  scared  thereby,  and  scrambled 
in  great  fright  to  go  over  the  stile.  Barbara  Jones 
got  over  first,  then  her  sister,  and  as  Egbert 
Williams  was  helping  his  sister  over  they  saw  the 
coblyn  close  upon  them,  and  barely  got  over  when 
his  hairy  hand  was  laid  on  the  stile.  He  stood 
leaning  on  it,  gazing  after  them  as  they  ran,  with  a 


■ 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  29 

grim  copper-coloured  countenance  and  a  fierce  look. 
The  young  people  ran  to  Lanelwyd  House  and  called 
the  elders  out,  but  though  they  hurried  quickly  to 
the  field  the  dwarfs  had  already  disappeared. 


The  counterparts  of  the  Coblynau  are  found  in 
most  mining  countries.  In  Germany,  the  Wichtlein 
(little  Wights)  are  little  old  long-bearded  men, 
about  three-quarters  of  an  ell  high,  which  haunt  the 
mines  of  the  southern  land.  The  Bohemians  call 
the  Wichtlein  by  the  name  of  Haus-schmiedlein, 
little  House-smiths,  from  their  sometimes  making 
a  noise  as  if  labouring  hard  at  the  anvil.  They  are 
not  so  popular  as  in  Wales,  however,  as  they  predict 
misfortune  or  death.  They  announce  the  doom  of 
a  miner  by  knocking  three  times  distinctly,  and 
when  any  lesser  evil  is  about  to  befall  him  they  are 
heard  digging,  pounding,  and  imitating  other  kinds 
of  work.  In  Germany  also  the  kobolds  are  rather 
troublesome  than  otherwise,  to  the  miners,  taking 
pleasure  in  frustrating  their  objects,  and  rendering 
their  toil  unfruitful.  Sometimes  they  are  down- 
right malignant,  especially  if  neglected  or  insulted, 
but  sometimes  also  they  are  indulgent  to  individuals 
whom  they  take  under  their  protection.  *  When  a 
miner  therefore  hit  upon  a  rich  vein  of  ore,  the 
inference  commonly  was  not  that  he  possessed  more 
skill,  industry,  or  even  luck  than  his  fellow-workmen, 
but  that  the  spirits  of  the  mine  had  directed  him  to 
the  treasure.'  ^ 

The  intimate  connection  between  mine  fairies  and 
the  whole  race  of  dwarfs  is  constantly  met  through- 
out the  fairy  mythology ;    and   the   connection   of 

^  Scott,  *  Demonology  and  Witchcraft,'  121. 


30  British  Goblins, 


the  dwarfs  with  the  mountains  is  equally  universal. 
'  God/  says  the  preface  to  the  Heldenbuch,  *  gave 
the  dwarfs  being,  because  the  land  and  the  mountains 
were  altogether  waste  and  uncultivated,  and  there 
was  much  store  of  silver  and  gold   and   precious 
stones    and   pearls  still    in  the  mountains.'     From 
the  most  ancient  times,  and  in  the  oldest  countries, 
down  to  our  own  time  and  the  new  world  of  America,        I 
the  traditions  are  the  same.     The  old  Norse  belief      *; 
which  made  the  dwarfs  the  current  machinery  of 
the  northern  Sagas  is  echoed  in  the  Catskill  Moun- 
tains with   the   rolling  of  the  thunder  among  the 
crags  where  Hendrik  Hudson's  dwarfs  are  playing        I 
ninepins.  I 

XI.  ■■■ ! 

The    Bwbach,  or   Boobach,  is  the  good-natured  I 

goblin  which  does  good  turns  for  the  tidy  Welsh  \ 

maid  who  wins  its  favour  by  a  certain  course   of  \ 

behaviour   recommended   by   long   tradition.     The'  | 

maid   having   swept    the    kitchen,    makes   a   good  ! 

fire  the  last   thing   at   night,  and  having   put   the  ; 

churn,  filled  with  cream,  on  the  whitened  hearth,  i 
with  a  basin  of  fresh  cream  for  the  Bwbach  on  the 
hob,    goes   to   bed   to   await   the   event.       In   the 

morning  she  finds  (if  she  is  in  luck)  that  the  Bwbach  | 

has   emptied   the   basin   of  cream,    and   plied   the  \ 
churn-dasher  so  well  that  the  maid  has  but  to  give  a 

thump  or  two  to  bring  the  butter  in  a  great  lump.  \ 

Like   the  Ellyll  which  it   so   much  resembles,  the  ; 

Bwbach  does  not  approve  of  dissenters  and  their  \ 

ways,  and  especially  strong  is  its  aversion  to  total  \ 

abstainers.  i 

There   was   a    Bwbach   belonging    to   a   certain  \ 

estate  in  Cardiganshire,  which  took  great  umbrage  | 

at  a  Baptist  preacher  who  was  a  guest  in  the  house,  \ 


i 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  3 1 

and  who  was  much  fonder  of  prayers  than  of  good 
ale.  Now  the  Bwbach  had  a  weakness  in  favour  of 
people  who  sat  around  the  hearth  with  their  mugs 
of  cwrw  da  and  their  pipes,  and  it  took  to  pestering 
the  preacher.  One  night  it  jerked  the  stool  from 
under  the  good  man's  elbows,  as  he  knelt  pouring 
forth  prayer,  so  that  he  fell  down  flat  on  his  face. 
Another  time  it  interrupted  the  devotions  by 
jangling  the  fire-irons  on  the  hearth  ;  and  it  was 
continually  making  the  dogs  fall  a-howling  during 
prayers,  or  frightening  the  farm-boy  by  grinning 
at  him  through  the  window,  or  throwing  the  maid 
into  fits.  At  last  it  had  the  audacity  to  attack 
the  preacher  as  he  was  crossing  a  field.  The 
minister  told  the  story  in  this  wise  :  *  I  was  reading 
busily  in  my  hymn-book  as  I  walked  on,  when  a 
sudden  fear  came  over  me  and  my  legs  began 
to  tremble.  A  shadow  crept  upon  me  from  behind, 
and  when  I  turned  round — it  was  myself! — my 
person,  my  dress,  and  even  my  hymn-book.  I 
looked  in  its  face  a  moment,  and  then  fell  insensible 
to  the  ground.'  And  there,  insensible  still,  they 
found  him.  This  encounter  proved  too  much  for 
the  good  man,  who  considered  it  a  warning  to  him 
to  leave  those  parts.  He  accordingly  mounted 
his  horse  next  day  and  rode  away.  A  boy  of  the 
neighbourhood,  whose  veracity  was,  like  that  of  all 
boys,  unimpeachable,  afterwards  said  that  he  saw 
the  Bwbach  jump  up  behind  the  preacher,  on  the 
horse's  back.  And  the  horse  went  like  light- 
ning, with  eyes  like  balls  of  fire,  and  the  preacher 
looking  back  over  his  shoulder  at  the  Bwbach, 
that  grinned  from  ear  to  ear. 


British  Goblins. 


XII. 

The  same  confusion  in  outlines  which  exists 
regarding  our  own  Bogie  and  Hobgoblin  gives  the 
Bwbach  a  double  character,  as  a  household  fairy 
and  as  a  terrifying  phantom.  In  both  aspects  it  is 
ludicrous,  but  in  the  latter  it  has  dangerous  practices. 
To  get  into  its  clutches  under  certain  circumstances 
is  no  trifling  matter,  for  it  has  the  power  of  whisking 
people  off  through  the  air.  Its  services  are  brought 
into  requisition  for  this  purpose  by  troubled  ghosts 
who  cannot  sleep  on  account  of  hidden  treasure 
they  want  removed  ;  and  if  they  can  succeed  in 
getting  a  mortal  to  help  them  in  removing  the 
treasure,  they  employ  the  Bwbach  to  transport  the 
mortal  through  the  air. 

This  ludicrous  fairy  is  in  France  represented  by 
the  gobelin.  Mothers  threaten  children  with  him. 
*Le  gobelin  vous  mangera,  le  gobelin  vous  em- 
portera.'  ^  In  the  English  '  hobgoblin  '  we  have  a 
word  apparently  derived  from  the  Welsh  hob,  to 
hop,  and  coblyn,  a  goblin,  which  presents  a  hopping 
goblin  to  the  mind,  and  suggests  the  Pwca  (with 
which  the  Bwbach  is  also  confused  in  the  popular 
fancy  at  times),  but  should  mean  in  English  simply 
the  goblin  of  the  hob,  or  household  fairy.  In  its 
bugbear  aspect,  the  Bwbach,  like  the  English  bogie, 
is  believed  to  be  identical  with  the  Slavonic  'bog,* 
and  the  '  baga '  of  the  Cuneiform  Inscriptions,  both 
of  which  are  names  for  the  Supreme  Being,  accord- 
ing to  Professor  Fiske.  '  The  ancestral  form  of 
these  epithets '  is  found  in  *  the  old  Aryan  "  Bhaga," 
which  reappears  unchanged  in  the  Sanskrit  of  the 

1  P^re  I'Abbd,  '  Etymologic,'  i.,  262. 


Quaint  Old  Customs,  ^i'h 

Vedas,  and  has  left  a  memento  of  itself  in  the 
surname  of  the  Phrygian  Zeus  "  Bagaios."  It  seems 
originally  to  have  denoted  either  the  unclouded  sun, 
or  the  sky  of  noonday  illuminated  by  the  solar  rays. 
.  .  .  Thus  the  same  name  which  to  the  Vedic 
poet,  to  the  Persian  of  the  time  of  Xerxes,  and  to 
the  modern  Russian,  suggests  the  supreme  majesty 
of  deity,  is  in  English  associated  with  an  ugly  and 
ludicrous  fiend,  closely  akin  to  that  grotesque 
Northern  Devil  of  whom  Southey  was  unable  to 
think  without  lauo-hinor.'  ^ 

o  o 

^  Fiske,  '  Myths  and  Myth-makers.'  105. 


\ 


34 


British  Goblins, 


CHAPTER  III. 

Lake  Fairies — The  Gwragedd  Annwn,  or  Dames  of  Elfin-Land — St. 
Patrick  and  the  Welshmen  ;  a  Legend  of  Crumlyn  Lake — The 
Elfin  Cow  of  Llyn  Barfog — Y  Fuwch  Laethwen  Lefrith — The 
Legend  of  the  Meddygon  Myddfai — The  Wife  of  Supernatural 
Race — The  Three  Blows  ;  a  Carmarthenshire  Legend — Cheese 
and  the  Didactic  Purpose  in  Welsh  Folk-Lore — The  Fairy  Maiden's 
Papa — The  Enchanted  Isle  in  the  Mountain  Lake— Legend  of  the 
Men  of  Ardudwy — Origin  of  Water  Fairies —Their  prevalence  in 
many  Lands. 

I. 

The  Gwragedd  Annwn  (literally,  wives  of  the  lower 
world,  or  hell)  are  the  elfin  dames  who  dwell  under 
the  water.  I  find  no  resemblance  in  the  Welsh 
fairy  to  our  familiar  mermaid,  beyond  the  watery 
abode,  and  the  sometimes  winning  ways.  The 
Gwragedd  Annwn  are  not  fishy  of  aspect,  nor  do 
they  dwell  in  the  sea.  Their  haunt  is  the  lakes 
and  rivers,  but  especially  the  wild  and  lonely  lakes 
upon  the  mountain  heights.  These  romantic  sheets 
are  surrounded  with  numberless  superstitions,  which 
will  be  further  treated  of.  In  the  realm  of  faerie 
they  serve  as  avenues  of  communication  between 
this  world  and  the  lower  one  of  annwn,  the  shadowy 
domain  presided  over  by  Gwyn  ap  Nudd,  king  of 
the  fairies.  This  sub-aqueous  realm  is  peopled  by 
those  children  of  mystery  termed  Plant  Annwn,  and 
the  belief  is  current  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Welsh  mountains  that  the  Gwragedd  Annwn  still 
occasionally  visit  this  upper  world  of  ours.^     The 

*  *  Archseologia  Cambrensis,'  2nd  Se.,  iv.,  253. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  35 

only  reference  to  Welsh  mermaids  I  have  either 
read  or  heard  Is  contained  In  Drayton's  account  of 
the  Battle  of  Aglncourt.  There  It  Is  mentioned, 
among  the  armorial  ensigns  of  the  counties  of 
Wales  : 

As  Cardigan,  the  next  to  them  that  went. 
Came  with  a  mermaid  sitting  on  a  rock.^ 

II. 

Crumlyn  Lake,  near  the  quaint  village  of  Briton 
Ferry,  Is  one  of  the  many  In  Wales  which  are  a 
resort  of  the  elfin  dames.  It  Is  also  believed  that  a 
large  town  lies  swallowed  up  there,  and  that  the 
Gwragedd  Annwn  have  turned  the  submerged  walls 
to  use  as  the  superstructure  of  their  fairy  palaces. 
Some  claim  to  have  seen  the  towers  of  beautiful 
castles  lifting  their  battlements  beneath  the  surface 
of  the  dark  waters,  and  fairy  bells  are  at  times  heard 
ringing  from  these  towers.  The  way  the  elfin  dames 
first  came  to  dwell  there  was  this  :  A  long,  ay,  a 
very  long  time  ago,  St.  Patrick  came  over  from 
Ireland  on  a  visit  to  St.  David  of  Wales,  just  to  say 
*  Sut  yr  y'ch  chwl  ? '  (How  d  ye  do  ?)  ;  and  as  they  were 
strolling  by  this  lake  conversing  on  religious  topics  In 
a  friendly  manner,  some  Welsh  people  who  had  ascer- 
tained that  It  was  St.  Patrick,  and  being  angry  at 
him  for  leaving  Cambria  for  Erin,  began  to  abuse 
him  In  the  Welsh  language,  his  native  tongue.  Of 
course  such  an  Insult  could  not  go  unpunished,  and 
St.  Patrick  caused  his  vllllfiers  to  be  transformed 
Into  fishes  ;  but  some  of  them  being  females,  were 
converted  Into  fairies  Instead.  It  Is  also  related 
that  the  sun,  on  account  of  this  insolence  to  so  holy 
a  man,  never  shed  Its  life-giving  rays  upon  the  dark 

^  There  is  in  *  Cyraru  Fu '  a  mermaid  story,  but  its  mermaid  feature 
is  apparently  a  modern  embellishment  of  a  real  incident,  and  without 
value  here. 


36  British  Goblins. 


waters  of  this  picturesque  lake,  except  during  one 

week  of  the  year.     This  legend  and  these  magical 

details  are  equally  well  accredited  to  various  other 

lakes,  among  them   Llyn  Barfog,  near  Aberdovey, 

the  town  whose  *  bells '  are  celebrated  in  immortal 

song. 

III. 

Llyn  Barfog  Is  the  scene  of  the  famous  elfin  cow's 
descent  upon  earth,  from  among  the  droves  of  the 
Gwragedd  Annwn.  This  is  the  legend  of  the  origin 
of  the  Welsh  black  cattle,  as  related  to  me  in 
Carmarthenshire :  I  n  times  of  old  there  was  a 
band  of  elfin  ladies  who  used  to  haunt  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Llyn  Barfog,  a  lake  among  the  hills  just 
back  of  Aberdovey.  It  was  their  habit  to  make 
their  appearance  at  dusk  clad  all  in  green,  accom- 
panied by  their  milk-white  hounds.  Besides  their 
hounds,  the  green  ladies  of  Llyn  Barfog  were  pe- 
culiar in  the  possession  of  droves  of  beautiful  milk- 
white  kine,  called  Gwartheg  y  Llyn,  or  kine  of  the 
lake.  One  day  an  old  farmer,  who  lived  near 
Dyssyrnant,  had  the  good  luck  to  catch  one  of  these 
mystic  cows,  which  had  fallen  in  love  with  the  cattle 
of  his  herd.  From  that  day  the  farmer's  fortune 
was  made.  Such  calves,  such  milk,  such  butter  and 
cheese,  as  came  from  the  milk-white  cow  never  had 
been  seen  in  Wales  before,  nor  ever  will  be  seen 
again.  The  fame  of  the  Fuwch  Gyfeiliorn  (which 
was  what  they  called  the  cow)  spread  through  the 
country  round.  The  farmer,  who  had  been  poor, 
became  rich  ;  the  owner  of  vast  herds,  like  the 
patriarchs  of  old.  But  one  day  he  took  it  into  his 
silly  noddle  that  the  elfin  cow  was  getting  old,  and 
that  he  had  better  fatten  her  for  the  market.  His 
nefarious  purpose  thrived  amazingly.  Never,  since 
beef  steaks  were  invented,  was  seen  such  a  fat  cow 


i 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  3  7 

as  this  cow  grew  to  be.  Killing  day  came,  and  the 
neighbours  arrived  from  all  about  to  witness  the 
taking-off  of  this  monstrously  fat  beast.  The  farmer 
had  already  counted  up  the  gains  from  the  sale  of 
her,  and  the  butcher  had  bared  his  red  right  arm. 
The  cow  was  tethered,  regardless  of  her  mournful 
lowing  and  her  pleading  eyes  ;  the  butcher  raised 
his  bludgeon  and  struck  fair  and  hard  between  the 
eyes — when  lo  !  a  shriek  resounded  through  the  air, 
awakening  the  echoes  of  the  hills,  as  the  butcher's 
bludgeon  went  through  the  goblin  head  of  the  elfin 
cow,  and  knocked  over  nine  adjoining  men,  while 
the  butcher  himself  went  frantically  whirling  around 
trying  to  catch  hold  of  something  permanent.  Then 
the  astonished  assemblage  beheld  a  green  lady 
standing  on  a  crag  high  up  over  the  lake,  and 
crying  with  a  loud  voice  : 

Dere  di  felen  Einion, 

Cyrn  Cyfeiliorn — braith  y  Llyn, 

A'r  foel  Dodin, 

Codwch,  dewch  adre. 

Come  yellow  Anvil,  stray  horns, 
Speckled  one  of  the  lake, 
And  of  the  hornless  Dodin, 
Arise,  come  home. 

Whereupon  not  only  did  the  elfin  cow  arise  and 
go  home,  but  all  her  progeny  to  the  third  and  fourth 
generations  went  home  with  her,  disappearing  in  the 
air  over  the  hill  tops  and  returning  nevermore. 
Only  one  cow  remained  of  all  the  farmers  herds, 
and  she  had  turned  from  milky  white  to  raven  black. 
Whereupon  the  farmer  in  despair  drowned  himself 
in  the  lake  of  the  green  ladies,  and  the  black  cow 
became  the  progenitor  of  the  existing  race  of  Welsh 
black  cattle. 

This  legend  appears,  in  a  slightly  different  form, 
in  the  '  lolo  MSS.,'  as  translated  by  Taliesin  Williams, 

D  2 


British  Goblins. 


of  Merthyr :  ^  *  The  milk-white  milch  cow  gave 
enough  of  milk  to  every  one  who  desired  it ;  and 
however  frequently  milked,  or  by  whatever  number 
of  persons,  she  was  never  found  deficient.  All 
persons  who  drank  of  her  milk  were  healed  of  every 
illness  ;  from  fools  they  became  wise  ;  and  from 
being  wicked,  became  happy.  This  cow  went  round 
the  world;  and  wherever  she  appeared,  she  filled 
with  milk  all  the  vessels  that  could  be  found,  leaving 
calves  behind  her  for  all  the  wise  and  happy.  It 
was  from  her  that  all  the  milch  cows  in  the  world 
were  obtained.  After  traversing  through  the  island 
of  Britain,  for  the  benefit  and  blessing  of  country  and 
kindred,  she  reached  the  Vale  of  Towy ;  where, 
tempted  by  her  fine  appearance  and  superior  condi- 
tion, the  natives  sought  to  kill  and  eat  her ;  but  just 
as  they  were  proceeding  to  effect  their  purpose,  she 
vanished  from  between  their  hands,  and  was  never 
seen  again.  A  house  still  remains  in  the  locality, 
called  Y  Fuwch  Laethwen  Lefrith  (The  Milk-white 

Milch  Cow.)^  ... 

IV.  ^ 

The  legend  of  the  Meddygon  Myddfai  again  intro- 
duces the  elfin  cattle  to  our  notice,  but  combines  with 
them  another  and  a  very  interesting  form  of  this 
superstition,  namely,  that  of  the  wife  of  supernatural 
race.  A  further  feature  gives  it  its  name,  Meddygon 
meaning  physicians,  and  the  legend  professing  to 
give  the  origin  of  certain  doctors  who  were  renowned 
in  the  thirteenth  century.  The  legend  relates  that 
a  farmer  in  the  parish  of  Myddfai,  Carmarthenshire, 
having  bought  some  lambs  in  a  neighbouring  fair, 
led  them  to  graze  near  Llyn  y  Fan  Fach,  on  the 
Black  Mountains.  Whenever  he  visited  these 
lambs  three  beautiful  damsels  appeared  to  him  from 

1  Llandovery,  published  for  the  Welsh  MSS.  Society,  1848. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  39 

the  lake,  on  whose  shores  they  often  made  excur- 
sions. Sometimes  he  pursued  and  tried  to  catch 
them,  but  always  failed ;  the  enchanting  nymphs  ran 
before  him  and  on  reaching  the  lake  taunted  him  in 
these  words  : 

Cras  dy  fara, 
Anhawdd  ein  dala ; 

which,  if  one  must  render  it  literally,  means  : 

Bake  your  bread, 

'Twill  be  hard  to  catch  us  ; 

but  which,  more  poetically  treated,  might  signify  : 

Mortal,  who  eatest  baken  bread, 
Not  for  thee  is  the  fairy's  bed  ! 

One  day  some  moist  bread  from  the  lake  came 
floating  ashore.     The  farmer  seized  it,  and  devoured 
it   with   avidity.     The   following  day,   to  his  great 
delight,  he  was  successful  in  his  chase,  and  caught 
the  nymphs  on  the  shore.     After  talking  a  long  time 
with  them,  he  mustered  up  the  courage  to  propose 
marriage  to  one  of  them.     She  consented  to  accept 
him  on  condition  that  he  would  distinguish  her  from 
her  sisters  the  next  day.     This  was  a  new  and  great 
difficulty  to  the  young  farmer,  for  the  damsels  were 
so    similar   in   form    and    features,    that   he   could 
scarcely   see    any   difference   between    them.       He 
noted,  however,  a  trifling  singularity  in  the  strapping 
of  the  chosen  one's  sandal,  by  which  he  recognized 
her  on  the  following  day.     As  good  as  her  word, 
the  gwraig  immediately  left  the  lake  and  went  with 
him  to  his  farm.     Before  she  quitted  the  lake  she 
summoned  therefrom  to  attend  her,  seven  cows,  two 
oxen,  and  one  bull.     She  stipulated  that  she  should 
remain  with  the  farmer  only  until  such  time  as  he 
should  strike  her  thrice  without  cause.     For  some 
years  they  dwelt  peaceably  together,  and  she  bore 


40  British  Goblins. 


him  three  sons,  who  were  the  celebrated  Meddygon 
Myddfai.  One  day,  when  preparing  for  a  fair  in  the 
neighbourhood,  the  farmer  desired  her  to  go  to  the 
field  for  his  horse.  She  said  she  would,  but  being 
rather  dilatory,  he  said  to  her  humorously  '  Dos, 
dos,  dos,'  i.e.,  *  Go,  go,  go,'  and  at  the  same  time 
slightly  tapped  her  arm  three  times  with  his  glove. 
.  .  .  The  blows  were  slight — but  they  were  blows. 
The  terms  of  the  marriage  contract  were  broken, 
and  the  dame  departed,  summoning  with  her  her 
seven  cows,  her  two  oxen,  and  the  bull.  The  oxen 
were  at  that  moment  ploughing  in  the  field,  but  they 
immediately  obeyed  her  call  and  dragged  the 
plough  after  them  to  the  lake.  The  furrow,  from  the 
field  in  which  they  were  ploughing  to  the  margin  of 
the  lake,  is  still  to  be  seen — in  several  parts  of  that 
country — at  the  present  day.  After  her  departure, 
the  gwraig  annwn  once  met  her  three  sons  in  the 
valley  now  called  Cwm  Meddygon,  and  gave  them  a 
magic  box  containing  remedies  of  wonderful  power, 
through  whose  use  they  became  celebrated.  Their 
names  were  Cadogan,  Gruffydd  and  Einion,  and  the 
farmer's  name  was  Rhiwallon.  Rhiwallon  and  his 
sons,  named  as  above,  were  physicians  to  Rhys 
Gryg,  Lord  of  Dynevor,  and  son  of  the  last  native 
prince  of  Wales.  They  lived  about  1 230,  and  dying, 
left  behind  them  a  compendium  of  their  medical 
practice.  *  A  copy  of  their  works  is  in  the  Welsh 
School  Library  in  Gray's  Inn  Lane.'  ^ 


In  a  more  polished  and  elaborate  form  this  legend 
omits  the  medical  features  altogether,  but  substitutes 
a  number  of  details  so  peculiarly  Welsh  that  I  cannot 
refrain  from  presenting  them.     This  version  relates 

*  '  Cambro  Briton,'  ii.,  315. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  41 

that  the  enamoured  farmer  had  heard  of  the  lake 
maiden,  who  rowed  up  and  down  the  lake  in  a 
golden  boat,  with  a  golden  oar.  Her  hair  was  long 
and  yellow,  and  her  face  was  pale  and  melancholy. 
In  his  desire  to  see  this  wondrous  beauty,  the  farmer 
went  on  New  Year's  Eve  to  the  edge  of  the  lake, 
and  in  silence  awaited  the  coming  of  the  first  hour 
of  the  new  year.  It  came,  and  there  in  truth  was 
the  maiden  in  her  golden  boat,  rowing  softly  to  and 
fro.  Fascinated,  he  stood  for  hours  beholding  her, 
until  the  stars  faded  out  of  the  sky,  the  moon  sank 
behind  the  rocks,  and  the  cold  gray  dawn  drew 
nigh  ;  and  then  the  lovely  gwraig  began  to  vanish 
from  his  sight.  Wild  with  passion,  and  with  the 
thought  of  losing  her  for  ever,  he  cried  aloud  to  the 
retreating  vision,  *  Stay  !  stay  !  Be  my  wife.'  But 
the  gwraig  only  uttered  a  faint  cry,  and  was  gone. 
Night  after  night  the  young  farmer  haunted  the 
shores  of  the  lake,  but  the  gwraig  returned  no  more. 
He  became  negligent  of  his  person  ;  his  once  robust 
form  grew  thin  and  wan  ;  his  face  was  a  map  of 
melancholy  and  despair.  He  went  one  day  to 
consult  a  soothsayer  who  dwelt  on  the  mountain, 
and  this  grave  personage  advised  him  to  besiege 
the  damsel's  heart  with  gifts  of  bread  and  cheese. 
This  counsel  commending  itself  strongly  to  his 
Welsh  way  of  thinking,  the  farmer  set  out  upon  an 
assiduous  course  of  casting  his  bread  upon  the 
waters — accompanied  by  cheese.  He  began  on 
Midsummer  eve  by  going  to  the  lake  and  dropping 
therein  a  large  cheese  and  a  loaf  of  bread.  Night 
after  night  he  continued  to  throw  in  loaves  and 
cheeses,  but  nothing  appeared  in  answer  to  his 
sacrifices.  His  hopes  were  set,  however,  on  the 
approaching  New  Year's  eve.  The  momentous 
night  arrived  at  last.     Clad  in  his  best  array,  and 


42 


British  Goblins. 


armed  with  seven  white  loaves  and  his  biggest  and 
handsomest   cheese,  he  set  out  once  more  for  the, 


THE   GWRAIG   OF  THE  GOLDEN   BOAT. 


lake.     There  he  waited  till  midnight,  and  then  slowly 
and  solemnly  dropped   the  seven  loaves   into  the 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  43 

water,  and  with  a  sigh  sent  the  cheese  to  keep  them 
company.  His  persistence  was  at  length  rewarded. 
The  magic  skiff  appeared  ;  the  fair  gwraig  guided  it 
to  where  he  stood ;  stepped  ashore,  and  accepted 
him  as  her  husband.  The  before-mentioned  stipu- 
lation was  made  as  to  the  blows ;  and  she  brought 
her  dower  of  cattle.  One  day,  after  they  had  been 
four  years  married,  they  were  invited  to  a  christening. 
In  the  midst  of  the  ceremony  the  gwraig  burst  into 
tears.  Her  husband  gave  her  an  angry  look,  and 
asked  her  why  she  thus  made  a  fool  of  herself.  She 
replied,  *  The  poor  babe  is  entering  a  world  of  sin 
and  sorrow  ;  misery  lies  before  it.  Why  should  I 
rejoice  ?'  He  pushed  her  pettishly  away.  '  I  warn 
you,  husband,'  said  the  gwraig ;  *  you  have  struck 
me  once.'  After  a  time  they  were  bidden  to  the 
funeral  of  the  child  they  had  seen  christened.  Now 
the  gwraig  laughed,  sang,  and  danced  about.  The 
husband's  wrath  again  arose,  and  again  he  asked  her 
why  she  thus  made  a  fool  of  herself.  She  answered, 
'The  dear  babe  has  escaped  the  misery  that  was 
before  it,  and  gone  to  be  good  and  happy  for  ever. 
Why  should  I  grieve  ?'  Again  he  pushed  her  from 
him,  and  again  she  warned  him ;  he  had  struck  her 
twice.  Soon  they  were  invited  to  a  wedding ;  the 
bride  was  young  and  fair,  the  groom  a  tottering, 
toothless,  decrepit  old  miser.  In  the  midst  of 
the  wedding  feast  the  gwraig  annwn  burst  into 
tears,  and  to  her  husband's  question  why  she 
thus  made  a  fool  of  herself  she  replied,  '  Truth 
is  wedded  to  age  for  greed,  and  not  for  love — 
summer  and  winter  cannot  agree — it  is  the  diawl's 
compact.'  The  angry  husband  thrust  her  from  him 
for  the  third  and  last  time.  She  looked  at  him 
with  tender  love  and  reproach,  and  said,  '  The  three 
blows   are  struck — husband,  farewell ! '     He  never 


44  "  nrtiish  Goblins. 


saw  her  more,  nor  any  of  the  flocks  and  herds  she 
had  brought  him  for  her  dowry. 

In  its  employment  of  the  myth  to  preach  a  sermon, 
and  in  its  introduction  of  cheese,  this  version  of  the 
legend  is  very  Welsh  indeed.  The  extent  to  which 
cheese  figures  in  Cambrian  folk-lore  is  surprising  ; 
cheese  is  encountered  in  every  sort  of  fairy  company  ; 
you  actually  meet  cheese  in  the  Mabinogion,  along 
with  the  most  romantic  forms  of  beauty  known  in 
story.  And  herein  again  is  illustrated  Shakspeare  s 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  Cambrian  goblins. 
*  Heaven  defend  me  from  that  Welsh  fairy  ! '  says 
Falstaff,  'lest  he  transform  me  to  a  piece  of  cheese  !'  ^ 
Bread  is  found  figuring  actively  in  the  folk-lore  of 
every  country,  especially  as  a  sacrifice  to  water- 
gods  ;  but  cheese  is,  so  far  as  I  know,  thus  honoured 
only  in  Cambria. 

VI. 

Once  more  this  legend  appears,  this  time  with  a 
feature  I  have  nowhere  else  encountered  in  fairy 
land,  to  wit,  the  father  of  a  fairy  damsel.  The  son 
of  a  farmer  on  Drws  Coed  farm  was  one  foggy  day 
looking  after  his  father's  sheep,  when  crossing  a 
marshy  meadow  he  beheld  a  little  lady  behind  some 
rising  ground.  She  had  yellow  hair,  blue  eyes  and 
rosy  cheeks.  He  approached  her,  and  asked  per- 
mission to  converse  ;  whereupon  she  smiled  sweetly 
and  said  to  him,  '  Idol  of  my  hopes,  you  have  come 
at  last ! '  They  there  and  then  began  to  '  keep 
company,*  and  met  each  other  daily  here  and  there 
along  the  farm  meadows.  His  intentions  were 
honourable  ;  he  desired  her  to  marry  him.  He  was 
sometimes  absent  for  days  together,  no  one  knew 
where,  and  his  friends  whispered  about  that  he  had 
been   witched.      Around   the  Turf   Lake    (Llyn   y 

*  *  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor  '  Act.  V.,  Sc.  5. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie,  45 

Dywarchen)  was  a  grove  of  trees,  and  under  one  of 
these  one  day  the  fairy  promised  to  be  his.  The 
consent  of  her  father  was  now  necessary.  One 
moonlight  night  an  appointment  was  made  to  meet 
in  this  wood.  The  father  and  daughter  did  not 
appear  till  the  moon  had  disappeared  behind  the 
hill.  Then  they  both  came.  The  fairy  father  im- 
mediately gave  his  consent'  to  the  marriage,  on 
one  condition,  namely,  that  her  future  husband 
should  never  hit  her  with  iron.  '  If  ever  thou  dost 
touch  her  flesh  with  iron  she  shall  be  no  more  thine, 
but  she  shall  return  to  her  own.'  They  were  married 
— a  good-looking  pair.  Large  sums  of  money  were 
brought  by  her,  the  night  before  the  wedding,  to 
Drws  Coed.  The  shepherd  lad  became  wealthy, 
had  several  handsome  children,  and  they  were  very 
happy.  After  some  years,  they  were  one  day  out 
riding,  when  her  horse  sank  in  a  deep  mire,  and  by 
the  assistance  of  her  husband,  in  her  hurrry  to 
remount,  she  was  struck  on  her  knee  by  the  stirrup 
of  the  saddle.  Immediately  voices  were  heard 
singing  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  she  disappeared, 
leaving  all  her  children  behind.  She  and  her 
mother  devised  a  plan  by  which  she  could  see  her 
beloved,  but  as  she  was  not  allowed  to  walk  the 
earth  with  man,  they  floated  a  large  turf  on  the  lake, 
and  on  this  turf  she  stood  for  hours  at  a  time 
holding  converse  with  her  husband.  This  continued 
until  his  death.^ 

VII. 

The  didactic  purpose  again  appears  in  the  follow- 
ing legend,  which,  varying  but  little  in  phraseology, 
is  current  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  dozen  different 
mountain  lakes  :  In  other  days,  before  the  Cymry 
had  become  reconciled  to  their  Saxon  foe,  on  every 

^  '  Cymru  Fu,'  476. 


British  Goblins. 


New  Year's  morning  a  door  was  found  open  in  a 
rock  hard  by  the  lake.  Those  mortals  who  had 
the  curiosity  and  the  resolution  to  enter  this  door 
were  conducted  by  a  secret  passage  to  a  small 
island  in  the  middle  of  the  lake.  Here  they  found 
a  most  enchanting  garden,  stored  with  the  choicest 
fruits  and  flowers,  and  inhabited  by  the  Gwragedd 
Annwn,  whose  beauty  could  be  equalled  only  by  the 
courtesy  and  affability  which  they  exhibited  to  those 
who  pleased  them.  They  gathered  fruit  and  flowers 
for  each  of  their  guests,  entertained  them  with  the 
most  exquisite  music,  disclosed  to  them  many  secrets 
of  futurity,  and  invited  them  to  stay  as  long  as  they 
liked.  'But,'  said  they,  *the  island  is  secret,  and 
nothing  of  its  produce  must  be  carried  away.'  The 
warning  being  heeded,  all  went  well.  But  one  day 
there  appeared  among  the  visitors  a  wicked  Welsh- 
man, who,  thinking  to  derive  some  magical  aid 
therefrom,  pocketed  a  flower  with  which  he  had 
been  presented,  and  was  about  to  leave  the  garden 
with  his  prize.  But  the  theft  boded  him  no  good. 
As  soon  as  he  had  touched  unhallowed  ground  the 
flower  vanished,  and  he  lost  his  senses.  However, 
of  this  abuse  of  their  hospitality  the  Gwragedd 
Annwn  took  no  notice  at  the  time.  They  dismissed 
their  guests  with  their  accustomed  courtesy,  and  the 
door  was  closed  as  usual.  But  their  resentment 
was  bitter  ;  for  though  the  fairies  of  the  lake  and 
their  enchanted  garden  undoubtedly  occupy  the 
spot  to  this  day,  the  door  which  led  to  the  island 
has  never  been  reopened. 

VIII. 

In  all  these  legends  the  student  of  comparative 
folk-lore  traces  the  ancient  mythology,  however 
overlain  with  later  details.     The  water-maidens  of 


The  Realm  of  Faerie,  47 

every  land  doubtless  originally  were  the  floating 
clouds  of  the  sky,  or  the  mists  of  the  mountain. 
From  this  have  come  certain  fair  and  fanciful  crea- 
tions with  which  Indo-European  folk-lore  teems,  the 
most  familiar  of  which  are  Undine,  Melusina,  Nau- 
sicaa,  and  the  classic  Muse.  In  Wales,  as  in  other 
lands,  the  myth  has  many  forms.  The  dispersion  of 
dark  clouds  from  the  mountains,  by  the  beams  of  the 
rising  sun,  or  the  morning  breezes,  is  localized  in  the 
legend  of  the  Men  of  Ardudwy.  These  men  make 
a  raid  on  the  maidens  of  the  Vale  of  Clwyd,  and  are 
pursued  and  slaughtered  by  the  latter's  fathers  and 
brothers.  The  maidens  thereupon  cast  themselves 
headlong  into  the  lake,  which  is  thenceforth  called 
the  Maidens'  Lake,  or  Llyn  y  Morwynion.  In 
another  legend,  the  river  mist  over  the  Cynwal  is 
the  spirit  of  a  traitress  who  perished  long  ago  in  the 
lake.  She  had  conspired  with  the  sea-born  pirates 
of  the  North  (the  ocean  storms)  to  rob  her  Cambrian 
lord  of  his  domains.  She  was  defeated  by  the  aid 
of  a  powerful  enchanter  (the  sun),  and  fled  up  the 
river  to  the  lake,  accompanied  by  her  maidens,  who 
were  drowned  with  her  there.^ 

IX. 

As  the  mermaid  superstition  is  seemingly  absent 
in  Wales,  so  there  are  no  fairy  tales  of  maidens  who 
lure  mortals  to  their  doom  beneath  the  water,  as  the 
Dracae  did  women  and  children,  and  as  the  Nymph 
of  the  Lurley  did  marriageable  young  men.  But  it 
is  believed  that  there  are  several  old  Welsh  families 
who  are  the  descendants  of  the  Gwragedd  Annwn,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  Meddygon  Myddfai.  The  familiar 
Welsh  name  of  Morgan  is  sometimes  thought  to 
signify,  '  Born  of  the  Sea.'     Certainly  mor  in  Welsh 

^  'Arch.  Camb.,'4th  Se.,  vii.,  251. 


»J  '-jt^ii, 


48  British  Goblins. 


means  sea,  and  gdn  a  birth.  It  is  curious,  too,  that 
a  mermaid  is  called  in  Basse  Bretagne  *  Mary 
Morgan.'  But  the  class  of  stories  in  which  a  mortal 
marries  a  water-maiden  is  large,  and  while  the  local 
details  smack  of  the  soil,  the  general  idea  is  so  like 
in  lands  far  remote  from  each  other  as  to  indicate  a 
common  origin  in  pre-historic  times.  In  Wales, 
where  the  mountain  lakes  are  numerous,  gloomy, 
lonely,  and  yet  lovely ;  where  many  of  them,  too, 
show  traces  of  having  been  inhabited  in  ancient 
times  by  a  race  of  lake-dwellers,  whose  pile- 
supported  villages  vanished  ages  ago ;  and  where 
bread  and  cheese  are  as  classic  as  beer  and  candles, 
these  particulars  are  localized  in  the  legend.  In  the 
Faro  Islands,  where  the  seal  is  a  famiUar  yet  ever- 
mysterious  object,  with  its  human-like  eyes,  and 
glossy  skin,  the  wife  of  supernatural  race  is  a 
transformed  seal.  She  comes  ashore  every  ninth 
night,  sheds  her  skin,  leaves  it  on  the  shore,  and 
dances  with  her  fairy  companions.  A  mortal  steals 
her  sealskin  dress,  and  when  day  breaks,  and  her 
companions  return  to  their  abode  in  the  sea,  compels 
her  to  remain  and  be  his  wife.  Some  day  he  offends 
her ;  she  recovers  her  skin  and  plunges  into  the  sea. 
In  China,  the  superstition  appears  in  a  Lew-chewan 
legend  mentioned  by  Dr.  Dennys,^  which  relates 
how  a  fairy  in  the  guise  of  a  beautiful  woman  is 
found  bathing  in  a  man's  well.  He  persuades  her 
to  marry  him,  and  she  remains  with  him  for  nine 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  time,  despite  the  affection 
she  has  for  their  two  children,  she  '  glides  upwards 
into  a  cloud '  and  disappears. 

*  *  P'olk-Lore  of  China,'  99. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  49 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Mountain  Fairies — The  Gwyllion — The  Old  Woman  of  the  Mountain 
— The  Black  Mountain  Gwy  11— Exorcism  by  Knife — Occult  In- 
tellectual Powers  of  Welsh  Goats — The  Legend  of  Cadwaladr's 
Goat.  , 

The  Gwyllion  are  female  fairies  of  frightful  charac- 
teristics, who  haunt  lonely  roads  in  the  Welsh 
mountains,  and  lead  night-wanderers  astray.  They 
partake  somewhat  of  the  aspect  of  the  Hecate  of 
Greek  mythology,  who  rode  on  the  storm,  and  was 
a  hag  of  horrid  guise.  The  Welsh  word  gwyll  is 
variously  used  to  signify  gloom,  shade,  duskiness,  a 
hag,  a  witch,  a  fairy,  and  a  goblin  ;  but  its  special 
application  is  to  these  mountain  fairies  of  gloomy 
and  harmful  habits,  as  distinct  from  the  Ellyllon  of 
the  forest  glades  and  dingles,  which  are  more  often 
beneficent.  The  Gwyllion  take  on  a  more  distinct 
individuality  under  another  name — as  the  Ellyllon 
do  in  mischievous  Puck — and  the  Old  Woman  of 
the  Mountain  typifies  all  her  kind.  She  is  very 
carefully  described  by  the  Prophet  J  ones,  ^  in  the 
guise  in  which  she  haunted  Llanhyddel  Mountain 
in  Monmouthshire.  This  was  the  semblance  of  a 
poor  old  woman,  with  an  oblong  four-cornered  hat, 
ash-coloured  clothes,  her  apron  thrown  across  her 
shoulder,  with  a  pot  or  wooden  can  in  her  hand, 
such  as  poor  people  carry  to  fetch  milk  with,  always 
going  before  the  spectator,  and  sometimes  crying 
*  Wow  up  ! '    This  is  an  English  form  of  a  Welsh  cry 

*  See  p.  104. 


50  British  Goblins. 


of  distress,  *  Wwb  !  *  or  '  Ww-bwb  ! '  ^     Those  who 
saw  this  apparition,  whether  by  night  or  on  a  misty 
day,  would  be  sure  to  lose  their  way,  though  they 
might  be  perfectly  familiar  with  the  road.     Some- 
times they  heard  her  cry,  '  Wow  up  ! '  when  they 
did  not  see  her.     Sometimes  when  they  went  out 
by  night,  to  fetch  coal,  water,  etc.,  the  dwellers  near 
that   mountain  would   hear  the   cry  very  close   to 
them,    and   immediately  after   they   would   hear   it    | 
afar  off,  as  if  it  were  on  the  opposite  mountain,  in 
the  parish  of  Aberystruth.      The  popular  tradition 
in  that  district  was  that  the    Old  Woman  of  the 
Mountain  was  the  spirit  of  one  Juan  White,  who     | 
lived   time   out   of  mind  in   those  parts,   and  was 
thought  to  be  a  witch  ;  because  the  mountains  were 
not  haunted  in  this  manner  until  after  Juan  White's     ' 
death.^     When  people  first  lost  their  way,  and  saw     I 
her  before  them,  they  used  to  hurry  forward  and  try     i 
to  catch  her,  supposing  her  to  be  a  flesh-and-blood     ] 
woman,  who  could  set  them  right ;  but  they  never 
could   overtake   her,    and   she   on   her   part   never 
looked  back  ;    so  that  no  man  ever  saw  her   face.     ; 
She  has  also  been  seen  in  the  Black  Mountain  in     I 
Breconshire.    Robert  Williams,  of  Langattock,  Crick-     | 
howel,  '  a  substantial  man  and  of  undoubted  veracity,'     I 
tells  this  tale  :  As  he  was  travelling  one  night  over 
part    of    the    Black    Mountain,    he    saw   the    Old     ] 
Woman,  and  at  the  same  time  found  he  had  lost     i 
his   way.     Not   knowing   her   to  be   a   spectre   he     ; 
hallooed  to  her  to  stay  for  him,  but  receiving  no     j 
answer  thought  she  was  deaf.     He  then  hastened     j 

1  Pronounced  Wooboob.  j 

2  *  Juan  (Shui)  White  is  an  old  acquaintance  of  my  boyhood,' writes  : 
to  me  a  friend  who  was  born  some  thirty  years  ago  in  Monmouth-  j 
shire.  '  A  ruined  cottage  on  the  Lasgarn  hill  near  Pontypool  was  \ 
understood  by  us  boys  to  have  been  her  house,  and  there  she  appeared  I 
at  12  p.m.,  carrying  her  head  under  her  arm.'  V 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  5 1 


his  steps,  thinking  to  overtake  her,  but  the  faster  he 

ran  the    further    he    found    himself  behind    her,   at 

which    he   wondered  very  much,   not  knowing  the 

reason  of  it.      He  presently  found  himself  stumbling 

in  a  marsh,  at  which  discovery  his  vexation  increased  ; 

and  then  he  heard  the  Old  Woman  laughing  at  him 

with  a  weird,  uncanny,   crackling  old  laugh.     This 

set  him  to  thinking   she    might   be  a   gwyll ;    and 

when  he  happened  to  draw  out  his  knife  for  some 

purpose,  and  the  Old  Woman  vanished,  then  he  was 

sure  of  it ;  for  Welsh  ghosts  and  fairies  are  afraid 

of  a  knife. 

II. 

Another  account  relates    that  John  ap  John,  of 

Cwm  Celyn,  set  out  one  morning  before  daybreak 

to  walk  to  Caerleon  Fair.     As  he  ascended  Milfre 

Mountain  he  heard  a  shouting  behind  him  as  if  it 

were  on  Bryn  Mawr,  which  is  a  part  of  the  Black 

Mountain  in  Breconshire.      Soon  after  he  heard  the 

shouting  on  his  left  hand,  at  Bwlch  y  Llwyn,  nearer 

to  him,  whereupon  he  was  seized  with  a  great  fright, 

and  began  to  suspect  it  was  no  human  voice.      He 

had  already  been  wondering,  indeed,  what  any  one 

could  be  doing  at  that  hour  in  the  morning,  shouting 

on  the    mountain   side.     Still   going   on,    he   came 

up    higher   on    the    mountain,  when   he  heard    the 

shouting  just  before  him,   at  Gilfach  fields,  to  the 

right — and  now  he  was  sure  it  was  the  Old  Woman 

of  the  Mountain,  who  purposed  leading  him  astray. 

Presently  he  heard  behind  him  the  noise  of  a  coach, 

and  with  it  the  special  cry  of  the  Old  Woman  of  the 

Mountain,  viz.,   '  Wow    up  ! '       Knowing  very  well 

that  no  coach  could  go  that  way,  and  still  hearing  its 

noise    approaching    nearer   and   nearer,   he  became 

thoroughly  terrified,   and    running  out  of  the   road 

threw  himself  down  upon  the  ground  and  buried  his 

E 


52  British  Goblins. 


face  in  the  heath,  waiting  for  the  phantom  to  pass. 
When  it  was  gone  out  of  hearing,  he  arose ;  and 
hearing  the  birds  singing  as  the  day  began  to  break, 
also  seeing  some  sheep  before  him,  his  fear  went 
quite  off.  And  this,  says  the  Prophet  Jones,  was 
'  no  profane,  immoral  man,*  but  '  an  honest,  peace- 
able, knowing  man,  and  a  very  comely  person  '  more- 
over. 

III. 

The  exorcism  by  knife  appears  to  be  a  Welsh 
notion  ;  though  there  is  an  old  superstition  of  wide 
prevalence  in  Europe  that  to  give  to  or  receive 
from  a  friend  a  knife  or  a  pair  of  scissors  cuts  friend- 
ship. I  have  even  encountered  this  superstition  in 
America;  once  an  editorial  friend  at  Indianapolis 
gave  me  a  very  handsome  pocket-knife,  which 
he  refused  to  part  with  except  at  the  price  of  one 
cent,  lawful  coin  of  the  realm,  asserting  that  we 
should  become  enemies  without  this  precaution.  In 
China,  too,  special  charms  are  associated  with 
knives,  and  a  knife  which  has  slain  a  fellow-being  is 
an  invaluable  possession.  In  Wales,  according  to 
Jones,  the  Gwyllion  often  came  into  the  houses  of 
the  people  at  Aberystruth,  especially  in  stormy 
weather,  and  the  inmates  made  them  welcome — not 
through  any  love  they  bore  them,  but  through  fear 
of  the  hurts  the  Gwyllion  might  inflict  if  offended 
— by  providing  clean  water  for  them,  and  taking 
especial  care  that  no  knife,  or  other  cutting  tool, 
should  be  in  the  corner  near  the  fire,  where  the 
fairies  would  go  to  sit.  '  For  want  of  which  care 
many  were  hurt  by  them.'  While  it  was  desirable 
to  exorcise  them  when  in  the  open  air,  it  was  not 
deemed  prudent  to  display  an  inhospitable  spirit 
towards  any  member  of  the  fairy  world.  The  cases 
of  successful  exorcism  by  knife  are  many,  and  no- 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  53 

thing  in  the  realm  of  faerie  is  better  authenticated. 
There  was  Evan  Thomas,  who,  travelling  by  night 
over  Bedwellty  Mountain,  towards  the  valley  of 
Ebwy  Fawr,  where  his  house  and  estate  were, 
saw  the  Gwyllion  on  each  side  of  him,  some  of  them 
dancing  around  him  in  fantastic  fashion.  He  also 
heard  the  sound  of  a  bugle-horn  winding  in  the  air, 
and  there  seemed  to  be  invisible  hunters  riding  by. 
He  then  began  to  be  afraid,  but  recollected  his 
having  heard  that  any  person  seeing  Gwyllion  may 
drive  them  away  by  drawing  out  a  knife.  So  he 
drew  out  his  knife,  and  the  fairies  vanished  directly. 
Now  Evan  Thomas  was  *  an  old  gentleman  of  such 
strict  veracity  that  he '  on  one  occasion  '  did  confess 
a  truth  against  himself,'  when  he  was  'like  to  suffer 
loss '  thereby,  and  notwithstanding  he  '  was  per- 
suaded by  some  not  to  do  it,  yet  he  would  persist  in 
telling  the  truth,  to  his  own  hurt.' 

Should  we  find,  in  tracing  these  notions  back  to 
their  source,  that  they  are  connected  with  Arthur's 
sword  Excalibur  ?  If  so,  there  again  we  touch  the 
primeval  world. 

Jones  says  that  the  Old  Woman  of  the  Mountain 
has,  since  about  1800,  (at  least  in  South  Wales,) 
been  driven  into  close  quarters  by  the  light  of  the 
Gospel — in  fact,  that  she  now  haunts  mines — or  in 
the  preacher's  formal  words,  'the  coal-pits  and 
holes  of  the  earth.' 

IV. 

Among  the  traditions  of  the  origin  of  the  Gwyllion 
is  one  which  associates  them  with  goats.  Goats  are 
in  Wales  held  in  peculiar  esteem  for  their  supposed 
occult  intellectual  powers.  They  are  believed  to 
be  on  very  good  terms  with  the  Tylwyth  Teg,  and 
possessed  of  more  knowledge  than  their  appear- 
ance indicates.     It  is  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  the 

E  2 


54  British  Goblins. 


Tylwyth  Teg  that  every  Friday  night  they  comb  the 
goats'  beards  to  make  them  decent  for  Sunday. 
Their  association  with  the  GwylHon  is  related  in  the 
legend  of  Cadwaladr's  goat  :  Cadwaladr  owned  a 
very  handsome  goat,  named  Jenny,  of  which  he 
was  extremely  fond ;  and  which  seemed  equally 
fond  of  him ;  but  one  day,  as  if  the  very  diawl 
possessed  her,  she  ran  away  into  the  hills,  with 
Cadwaladr  tearing  after  her,  half  mad  with  anger 
and  affright.  At  last  his  Welsh  blood  got  so  hot, 
as  the  goat  eluded  him  again  and  again,  that  he 
flung  a  stone  at  her,  which  knocked  her  over  a  pre- 
cipice, and  she  fell  bleating  to  her  doom.  Cadwaladr 
made  his  way  to  the  foot  of  the  crag  ;  the  goat  was 
dying,  but  not  dead,  and  licked  his  hand — which  so 
affected  the  poor  man  that  he  burst  into  tears,  and 
sitting  on  the  ground  took  the  goat's  head  on  his 
arm.  The  moon  rose,  and  still  he  sat  there. 
Presently  he  found  that  the  goat  had  become  trans- 
formed to  a  beautiful  young  woman,  whose  brown 
eyes,  as  her  head  lay  on  his  arm,  looked  into  his  in 
a  very  disturbing  way.  *  Ah,  Cadwaladr,'  said  she, 
*  have  I  at  last  found  you  ?*  Now  Cadwaladr  had  a 
wife  at  home,  and  was  much  discomfited  by  this 
singular  circumstance ;  but  when  the  goat — yn  awr 
maiden — arose,  and  putting  her  black  slipper  on 
the  end  of  a  moonbeam,  held  out  her  hand  to  him, 
he  put  his  hand  in  hers  and  went  with  her.  As 
for  the  hand,  though  it  looked  so  fair,  it  felt  just  like 
a  hoof.  They  were  soon  on  the  top  of  the  highest 
mountain  in  Wales,  and  surrounded  by  a  vapoury 
company  of  goats  with  shadowy  horns.  These 
raised  a  most  unearthly  bleating  about  his  ears. 
One,  which  seemed  to  be  the  king,  had  a  voice  that 
sounded  above  the  din  as  the  castle  bells  of  Car- 
marthen used  to  do  long  ago  above   all  the  other 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  ^^ 

bells  in  the  town.  This  one  rushed  at  Cadwaladr 
and  butting  him  in  the  stomach  sent  him  toppling 
over  a  crag  as  he  had  sent  his  poor  nannygoat. 
When  he  came  to  himself,  after  his  fall,  the  morning 
sun  was  shining  on  him  and  the  birds  were  singing 
over  his  head.  But  he  saw  no  more  of  either  his 
goat  or  the  fairy  she  had  turned  into,  from  that 
time  to  his  death. 


^6  British  Goblins. 


^ 


CHAPTER  V. 

Changelings — The  Plentyn-newid — The  Cruel  Creed  of  Ignorance 
regarding  Changelings — Modes  of  Ridding  the  House  of  the  Fairy- 
Child — The  Legend  of  the  Frugal  Meal — Legend  of  the  Place  of 
Strife — Dewi  Dal  and  the  Fairies — Prevention  of  Fairy  Kid- 
napping— Fairies  caught  in  the  Act  by  Mothers— Piety  as  an 
Exorcism. 

L 

The  Tylwyth  Teg  have  a  fatal  admiration  for  lovely- 
children.     Hence  the  abundant  folk-lore  concerning 
infants  who  have  been  stolen  from  their  cradles,  and 
a   plentyn-newid    (change-child — the    equivalent    of 
our  changeling)   left  in    its  place  by  the  Tylwyth 
Teg.     The  plentyn-newid  has  the  exact  appearance 
of  the  stolen  infant,  at  first ;  but  its  aspect  speedily 
alters.     It  grows  ugly  of  face,  shrivelled  of  form, 
ill-tempered,    wailing,    and    generally   frightful.     It 
bites  and  strikes,  and  becomes  a  terror  to  the  poor 
mother.     Sometimes  it  is  idiotic ;  but  again  it  has 
a  supernatural  cunning,  not   only  impossible   in   a 
mortal  babe,  but  not  even  appertaining  to  the  oldest 
heads,  on  other  than  fairy  shoulders.     The  veracious 
Prophet  Jones  testifies  to  a  case  where  he  himself 
saw  the  plentyn-newid — an  idiot  left  in  the  stead 
of  a  son  of  Edmund  John  William,  of  the  Church 
Valley,  Monmouthshire.     Says  Jones  :    '  I  saw  him 
myself.      There   was   something    diabolical    in    his 
aspect,'  but  especially  in  his  motions.     He  '  made 
very   disagreeable   screaming   sounds,*  which    used 
to  frighten  strangers  greatly,  but  otherwise  he  was 
harmless.     He  was  of  a  '  dark,  tawny  complexion.' 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  57 

He  lived  longer  than  such  children  usually  lived 
in  Wales  in  that  day,  (a  not  altogether  pleasant 
intimation  regarding  the  hard  lot  to  which  such 
children  were  subjected  by  their  unwilling  parents,) 
reaching  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve  years.  But 
the  creed  of  ignorance  everywhere  as  regards 
changelings  is  a  very  cruel  one,  and  reminds  us  of 
the  tests  of  the  witchcraft  trials.  Under  the 
pretence  of  proving  whether  the  objectionable  baby 
is  a  changeling  or  not,  it  is  held  on  a  shovel  over 
the  fire,  or  it  is  bathed  in  a  solution  of  the  fox-glove, 
which  kills  it ;  a  case  where  this  test  was  applied 
is  said  to  have  actually  occurred  in  Carnarvonshire 
in  1857.  That  there  is  nothing  specially  Welsh 
in  this,  needs  not  to  be  pointed  out.  Apart  from 
the  fact  that  infanticide,  like  murder,  is  of  no 
country,  similar  practices  as  to  changelings  have 
prevailed  in  most  European  lands,  either  to  test 
the  child's  uncanny  quality,  or,  that  being  admitted, 
to  drive  it  away  and  thus  compel  the  fairies  to 
restore  the  missing  infant.  In  Denmark  the  mother 
heats  the  oven,  and  places  the  changeling  on  the 
peel,  pretending  to  put  it  in  ;  or  whips  it  severely 
with  a  rod  ;  or  throws  it  into  the  water.  In  Sweden 
they  employ  similar  methods.  In  Ireland  the 
hot  shovel  is  used.  With  regard  to  a  changeling 
which  Martin  Luther  tells  of  in  his  '  Colloquia 
Mensalia/  the  great  reformer  declared  to  the 
Prince  of  Anhalt,  that  if  he  were  prince  of  that 
country  he  would  'venture  homicidium  thereon, 
and  would  throw  it  into  the  River  Moldaw.'  He 
admonished  the  people  to  pray  devoutly  to  God 
to  take  away  the  devil,  which  '  was  done  accordingly  ; 
and  the  second  year  after  the  changeling  died.' 
It  is  hardly  probable  that  the  child  was  very  well 
fed  during   the  two  years  that  this  pious  process 


58  British  Goblins, 


was  going  on.  Its  starved  ravenous  appetite 
indeed  is  indicated  in  Luther's  description :  It 
*  would  eat  as  much  as  two  threshers,  would  laugh 
and  be  joyful  when  any  evil  happened  in  the  house, 
but  would  cry  and  be  very  sad  when  all  went  well.' 

II. 

A  story,  told  in  various  forms  in  Wales,  preserves 
a  tradition  of  an  exceedingly  frugal  meal  which  was 
employed  as  a  means  of  banishing  a  plentyn-newid. 
M.  Villemarqu^,  when  in  Glamorganshire,  heard 
this  story,  which  he  found  to  be  precisely  the  same 
as  a  Breton  legend,  in  which  the  changeling  utters  a 
rhymed  triad  as  follows  : 

Gweliz  vi  ken  guelet  iar  wenn, 
Gweliz  mez  ken  gwelet  gwezen. 
Gweliz  mez  ha  gweliz  gwial, 
Gweliz  derven  e  Koat  Brezal, 
Biskoaz  na  weliz  kemend  all. 

In  the  Glamorgan  story  the  changeling  was  heard 
muttering  to  himself  in  a  cracked  voice  :  *  I  have 
seen  the  acorn  before  I  saw  the  oak  :  I  have  seen 
the  ^gg  before  I  saw  the  white  hen  :  I  have  never 
seen  the  like  of  this.'  M.  Villemarque  found  it 
remarkable  that  these  words  form  in  Welsh  a  rhymed 
triad  nearly  the  same  as  in  the  Breton  ballad,  thus : 

Gweliz  mez  ken  gwelet  derven, 
Gweliz  vi  ken  gwelet  iar  wenn, 
Erioez  ne  wiliz  evelhenn.^ 

Whence  he  concluded  that  the  story  and  the  rhyme 
are  older  than  the  seventh  century,  the  epoch  of  the 
separation  of  the  Britons  of  Wales  and  Armorica. 
And  this  is  the  story :  A  mother  whose  child  had 
been  stolen,  and  a  changeling  left  in  its  place,  was 
advised  by  the  Virgin  Mary  to  prepare  a  meal  for 

*  Keightley,  '  Fairy  Mythology,'  437. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  59 

ten  farm-servants  in  an  egg-shell,  which  would  make 
the  changeling  speak.  This  she  did,  and  the 
changeling  asked  what  she  was  about.  She  told 
him.  Whereupon  he  exclaimed,  '  A  meal  for  ten, 
dear  mother,  in  one  egg-shell  ? '  Then  he  uttered 
the  exclamation  given  above,  ('  I  have  seen  the 
acorn,'  etc.,)  and  the  mother  replied,  '  You  have 
seen  too  many  things,  my  son,  you  shall  have  a 
beating.'  With  this  she  fell  to  beating  him,  the 
child  fell  to  bawling,  and  the  fairy  came  and  took 
him  away,  leaving  the  stolen  child  sleeping  sweetly 
in  the  cradle.  It  awoke  and  said,  '  Ah,  mother,  I 
have  been  a  long  time  asleep  ! ' 

III. 

I  have  encountered  this  tale  frequently  among  the 
Welsh,  and  it  always  keeps  in  the  main  the  likeness 
of  M.  Villemarque's  story.  The  following  is  a 
nearly  literal  version  as  related  in  Radnorshire 
(an  adjoining  county  to  Montgomeryshire),  and 
which,  like  most  of  these  tales,  is  characterised  by 
the  non-primitive  tendency  to  give  names  of 
localities :  'In  the  parish  of  Trefeglwys,  near 
Llanidloes,  in  the  county  of  Montgomery,  there 
is  a  little  shepherd's  cot  that  is  commonly  called 
the  Place  of  Strife,  on  account  of  the  extraordinary 
strife  that  has  been  there.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
cottage  were  a  man  and  his  wife,  and  they  had  born 
to  them  twins,  whom  the  woman  nursed  with  great 
care  and  tenderness.  Some  months  after,  indis- 
pensable business  called  the  wife  to  the  house  of 
one  of  her  nearest  neighbours,  yet  notwithstanding 
that  she  had  not  far  to  go,  she  did  not  like  to  leave 
her  children  by  themselves  in  their  cradle,  even 
for  a  minute,  as  her  house  was  solitary,  and  there 
were  many  tales  of  goblins,  or  the  Tylwyth  Teg, 


6o  British  Goblins. 


. 


haunting  the  neighbourhood.  However,  she  went 
and  returned  as  soon  as  she  could  ;'  but  on  her 
way  back  she  was  *  not  a  Httle  terrified  at  seeing, 
though  it  was  midday,  some  of  the  old  elves  of  the 
blue  petticoat.'  She  hastened  home  in  great 
apprehension ;  but  all  was  as  she  had  left  it,  so 
that  her  mind  was  greatly  relieved.  '  But  after 
some  time  had  passed  by,  the  good  people  began 
to  wonder  that  the  twins  did  not  grow  at  all,  but 
still  continued  little  dwarfs.  The  man  would  have 
it  that  they  were  not  his  children  ;  the  woman  said 
they  must  be  their  children,  and  about  this  arose 
the  great  strife  between  them  that  gave  name  to 
the  place.  One  evening  when  the  woman  was 
very  heavy  of  heart,  she  determined  to  go  and 
consult  a  conjuror,  feeling  assured  that  everything 
was  known  to  him.  .  .  .  Now  there  was  to  be  a 
harvest  soon  of  the  rye  and  oats,  so  the  wise  man 
said  to  her,  "When  you  are  preparing  dinner  for  the 
reapers,  empty  the  shell  of  a  hen's  ^g^,  and  boil 
the  shell  full  of  pottage,  and  take  it  out  through 
the  door  as  if  you  meant  it  for  a  dinner  to  the 
reapers,  and  then  listen  what  the  twins  will  say ; 
if  you  hear  the  children  speaking  things  above  the 
understanding  of  children,  return  into  the  house, 
take  them  and  throw  them  into  the  waves  of  Llyn 
Ebyr,  which  is  very  near  to  you ;  but  if  you  don't 
hear  anything  remarkable  do  them  no  injury."  And 
when  the  day  of  the  reaping  came,  the  woman  did 
as  her  adviser  had  recommended  to  her;  and  as 
she  went  outside  the  door  to  listen  she  heard  one 
of  the  children  say  to  the  other : 


Gwelais  fesen  cyn  gweled  derwen  ; 
Gwelais  wy  cyn  gweled  iar  ; 
Erioed  ni  welais  ferwi  bwyd  i  fedel 
Mewn  plisgyn  wy  iar  ! 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  6i 

Acorns  before  oak  I  knew  ; 
An  ^<gg  before  a  hen  ; 
Never  one  hen's  egg-shell  stew- 
Enough  for  harvest  men ! 

'  On  this  the  mother  returned  to  her  house  and 
took  the  two  children  and  threw  them  into  the  Llyn  ; 
and  suddenly  the  goblins  in  their  blue  trousers  came 
to  save  their  dwarfs,  and  the  mother  had  her  own 
children  back  again  ;  and  thus  the  strife  between 
her  and  her  husband  ended.'  ^ 

IV. 

This  class  of  story  is  not  always  confined  to  the 
case  of  the  plentyn-newid,  as  I  have  said.  It  is 
applied  to  the  household  fairy,  when  the  latter,  as  in 
the  following  instance,  appears  to  have  brought  a 
number  of  extremely  noisy  friends  and  acquaintances 
to  share  his  shelter.  Dewi  Dal  was  a  farmer,  whose 
house  was  over-run  with  fairies,  so  that  he  could  not 
sleep  of  nights  for  the  noise  they  made.  Dewi 
consulted  a  wise  man  of  Taiar,  who  entrusted  Dewi's 
wife  to  do  certain  things,  which  she  did  carefully,  as 
follows  :  'It  was  the  commencement  of  oat  harvest, 
when  Cae  Mawr,  or  the  big  field,  which  it  took 
fifteen  men  to  mow  in  a  day,  was  ripe  for  the 
harvesters.  ''  I  will  prepare  food  for  the  fifteen 
men  who  are  going  to  mow  Cae  Mawr  to-morrow," 
said  Eurwallt,  the  wife,  aloud.  "Yes,  do,"  replied 
Dewi,  also  aloud,  so  that  the  fairies  might  hear, 
**and  see  that  the  food  is  substantial  and  sufficient 
for  the  hard  work  before  them."  Said  Eurwallt, 
''The  fifteen  men  shall  have  no  reason  to  complain 
upon  that  score.  They  shall  be  fed  according  to  our 
means."  Then  when  evening  was  come  Eurwallt 
prepared  food  for  the  harvesters'  sustenance  upon 
the   following   day.     Having   procured   a   sparrow, 

^  *  Cambrian  Quarterly,'  ii.,  86. 


62  British  Goblins. 


she  trussed  it  like  a  fowl,  and  roasted  it  by  the 
kitchen  fire.  She  then  placed  some  salt  in  a  nut- 
shell, and  set  the  sparrow  and  the  salt,  with  a  small 
piece  of  bread,  upon  the  table,  ready  for  the  fifteen 
men's  support  while  mowing  Cae  Mawr.  So  when 
the  fairies  beheld  the  scanty  provision  made  for  so 
many  men,  they  said  "  Let  us  quickly  depart  from 
this  place,  for  alas  !  the  means  of  our  hosts  are 
exhausted.  Who  before  this  was  ever  so  reduced 
in  circumstances  as  to  serve  up  a  sparrow  for  the 
day's  food  of  fifteen  men  ?  "  So  they  departed  upon 
that  very  night.  And  Dewi  Dal  and  his  family 
lived,  ever  afterwards,  in  comfort  and  peace.'  ^ 

V. 

The  Welsh  fairies  have  several  times  been  detected 
in  the  act  of  carrying  off  a  child  ;  and  in  these  cases, 
if  the  mother  has  been  sufficiently  energetic  in  her 
objections,  they  have  been  forced  to  abandon  their 
purpose.  Dazzy  Walter,  the  wife  of  Abel  Walter, 
of  Ebwy  Fawr,  one  night  in  her  husband's  absence 
awoke  in  her  bed  and  found  her  baby  was  not  at  her 
side.  In  great  fright  she  sought  for  it,  and  caught 
it  with  her  hand  upon  the  boards  above  the  bed, 
which  was  as  far  as  the  fairies  had  succeeded  in 
carrying  it.  And  Jennet  Francis,  of  that  same 
valley  of  Ebwy  Fawr,  one  night  in  bed  felt  her 
infant  son  being  taken  from  her  arms  ;  whereupon 
she  screamed  and  hung  on,  and,  as  she  phrased  it, 
'  God  and  me  were  too  hard  for  them.'  This  son 
subsequently  grew  up  and  became  a  famous  preacher 
of  the  gospel. 

There  are  special  exorcisms  and  preventive  mea- 
sures to  Interfere  with  the  fairies  in  their  quest  of 
infants.     The  most  significant  of  these,  throughout 

1  Rev.  T.  R.  Lloyd  (Estyn),  in  ^'  The  Principality.' 


The  Realm  of  Faerie. 


63 


Cambria,  is  a  general  habit  of  piety.  Any  pious 
exclamation  has  value  as  an  exorcism  ;  but  it  will 
not  serve  as  a  preventive.  To  this  end  you  must 
put  a  knife  in  the  child's  cradle  when  you  leave  it 


JENNET    FRANCIS    STRUGGLES   WITH    THE 
FAIRIES    FOR    HER    BABY. 


alone,  or  you  must  lay 
a  pair  of  tongs  across 
the  cradle.  But  the 
best  preventive  is  bap- 
tism ;  it  is  usually  the 
unbaptised  infant  that 
is  stolen.  So  in  Friesland,  Germany,  it  is  considered 
a  protection  against  the  fairies  who  deal  in  change- 
lings, to  lay  a  Bible  under  the  child's  pillow.  In 
Thuringia  it  is  deemed  an  infallible  preventive  to 
hang  the  father's  breeches  against  the  wall.   Anything 


64 


British  Goblins. 


more  trivial  than  this,  as  a  matter  for  the  considera- 
tion of  grave  and  scholarly  men,  one  could  hardly 
imagine  ;  but  it  is  in  precisely  these  trivial  or  seem- 
ingly trivial  details  that  the  student  of  comparative 
folk-lore  finds  his  most  extraordinary  indices.  Such 
a  superstition  in  isolation  would  suggest  nothing  ;  but 
it  is  found  again  in  Scotland,^  and  other  countries, 
including  China,  where  '  a  pair  of  the  trousers  of 
the  child's  father  are  put  on  the  frame  of  the  bed- 
stead in  such  a  way  that  the  waist  shall  hang  down- 
ward or  be  lower  than  the  legs.  On  the  trousers 
is  stuck  a  piece  of  red  paper,  having  four  words 
written  upon  it  intimating  that  all  unfavourable 
influences  are  to  go  into  the  trousers  instead  of 
afflicting  the  babe.'^ 

^  Henderson,  *  Notes  on  the  Folk-Lore  of  the  Northern  Counties,'  6. 
2  See  DooHttle's  '  Social  Life  of  the  Chinese.' 


(    65     ) 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Living  with  the  Tylwyth  Teg — The  Tale  of  EHdurus — Shui  Rhys  and 
the  Fairies — St.  Dogmell's  Parish,  Pembrokeshire — Dancing  with 
the  Ellyllon — The  Legend  of  Rhys  and  Llewellyn — Death  from 
joining  in  the  Fairy  Reel — Legend  of  the  Bush  of  Heaven — The 
Forest  of  the  Magic  Yew — The  Tale  of  Twm  and  I  ago — Taffy  ap 
Sion,  a  Legend  of  Pencader — The  Traditions  of  Pant  Shon  Shen- 
kin — Tudur  of  Llangollen  ;  the  Legend  of  Nant  yr  Ellyllon — Polly 
Williams  and  the  Trefethin  Elves — The  Fairies  of  Frennifawr- — 
Curiosity  Tales — The  Fiend  Master — lago  ap  Dewi — The  Original 
of  Rip  van  Winkle. 

I. 

Closely  akin  to  the  subject  of  changelings  is  that  of 
adults  or  well-grown  children  being  led  away  to  live 
with  the  Tylwyth  Teg.  In  this  field  the  Welsh 
traditions  are  innumerable,  and  deal  not  only  with 
the  last  century  or  two,  but  distinctly  with  the 
middle  ages.  Famed  among  British  goblins  are' 
those  fairies  which  are  immortalised  in  the  Tale  of 
Elidurus.  This  tale  was  written  in  Latin  by  Giraldus 
Cambrensis  (as  he  called  himself,  after  the  pedantic 
fashion  of  his  day),  a  Welshman,  born  at  Pembroke 
Castle,  and  a  hearty  admirer  of  everything  Welsh, 
himself  included.  He  was  beyond  doubt  a  man  of 
genius,  and  of  profound  learning.  In  1188  he  made 
a  tour  through  Wales,  in  the  interest  of  the  crusade 
then  in  contemplation,  and  afterwards  wrote  his 
book — a  fascinating  picture  of  manners  and  customs 
in  Wales  in  the  twelfth  century. 

The  scene  of  the  tale  is  that  Vale  of  Neath,  already 
named  as  a  famous  centre  of  fairyland.  Elidurus, 
when  a  youth  of  twelve  years,  '  in  order  to  avoid  the 
severity  of  his  preceptor,'  ran   away  from  school, 


66  British  Goblins. 

*  and  concealed  himself  under  the  hollow  bank  of  a 
river/  After  he  had  fasted  in  that  situation  for 
two  days,  '  two  little  men  of  pigmy  stature  appeared 
to  him,'  and  said,  '  If  you  will  go  with  us,  we  will 
lead  you  into  a  country  full  of  delights  and  sports.' 
Assenting,  Elidurus  rose  up  and  *  followed  his  guides 
through  a  path  at  first  subterraneous  and  dark,  into 
a  most  beautiful  country,  but  obscure  and  not  illumi- 
nated with  the  full  light  of  the  sun.'  All  the  days 
in  that  country  '  were  cloudy,  and  the  nights  ex- 
tremely dark.'  The  boy  was  brought  before  the 
king  of  the  strange  little  people,  and  introduced  to 
him  in  the  presence  of  his  Court.  Having  examined 
Elidurus  for  a  long  time,  the  king  delivered  him  to 
his  son,  that  prince  being  then  a  boy.  The  men  of 
this  country,  though  of  the  smallest  stature,  were 
very  well  proportioned,  fair-complexioned,  and  wore 
long  hair.  '  They  had  horses  and  greyhounds  adapted 
to  their  size.  They  neither  ate  flesh  nor  fish,  but 
lived  on  milk-diet,  made  up  into  messes  with  saffron. 
As  often  as  they  returned  from  our  hemisphere,  they 
reprobated  our  ambition,  infidelities,  and  inconstan- 
cies ;  and  though  they  had  no  form  of  public  worship, 
were,  it  seems,  strict  lovers  and  reverers  of  truth. 
The  boy  frequently  returned  to  our  hemisphere, 
sometimes  by  the  way  he  had  gone,  sometimes  by 
others ;  at  first  in  company,  and  afterwards  alone  ; 
and  made  himself  known  only  to  his  mother,  to 
whom  he  described  what  he  had  seen.  Being  desired 
by  her  to  bring  her  a  present  of  gold,  with  which 
that  country  abounded,  he  stole,  whilst  at  play  with 
the  king's  son,  a  golden  ball  with  which  he  used  to 
divert  himself,  and  brought  it  in  haste  to  his  mother, 
but  not  unpursued ;  for,  as  he  entered  the  house  of 
his  father,  he  stumbled  at  the  threshold  ;'  the  ball 
fell,  '  and  two  pigmies  seizing  it,  departed,  showing 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  67 

the  boy  every  mark  of  contempt  and  derision.  Not- 
withstanding every  attempt  for  the  space  of  a  year, 
he  never  again  could  find  the  track  to  the  subter- 
raneous passage.'  He  had  made  himself  acquainted 
with  the  language  of  his  late  hosts,  '  which  was  very 
conformable  to  the  Greek  idiom.  When  they  asked 
for  water,  they  said  Udor  udorum  ;  when  they  want 
salt,  they  say  Halgein  tidortim!  ^ 

II. 

Exactly  similar  to  this  medieval  legend  in  spirit, 
although  differing  widely  in  detail,  is  the  modern 
story  of  Shui  Rhys,  told  to  me  by  a  peasant  in 
Cardiganshire.  Shui  was  a  beautiful  girl  of  seven- 
teen, tall  and  fair,  with  a  skin  like  ivory,  hair  black 
and  curling,  and  eyes  of  dark  velvet.  She  was  but 
a  poor  farmer's  daughter,  notwithstanding  her  beauty, 
and  among  her  duties  was  that  of  driving  up  the 
cows  for  the  milking.  Over  this  work  she  used  to 
loiter  sadly,  to  pick  flowers  by  the  way,  or  chase 
the  butterflies,  or  amuse  herself  in  any  agreeable 
manner  that  fortune  offered.  For  her  loitering  she 
was  often  chided  ;  indeed,  people  said  Shui's  mother 
was  far  too  sharp  with  the  girl,  and  that  it  was  for 
no  good  the  mother  had  so  bitter  a  tongue.  After 
all  the  girl  meant  no  harm,  they  said.  But  when 
one  night  Shui  never  came  home  till  bed-time, 
leaving  the  cows  to  care  for  themselves,  dame  Rhys 
took  the  girl  to  task  as  she  never  had  done  before. 
'  Ysgwaetheroedd,  mami,'  said  Shui,  '  I  couldn't 
help  it  ;  it  was  the  Tylwyth  Teg.'  The  dame  was 
aghast  at  this,  but  she  could  not  answer  it — for  well 
she  knew  the  Tylwyth  Teg  were  often  seen  in  the 
woods  of  Cardigan.  Shui  was  at  first  shy  about 
talking  of  the  fairies,  but  finally  confessed  they  were 

^  See  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare's  Translation  of  Giraldus. 

F 


68 


British  Goblins. 


little  men  In  green  coats,  who  danced  around  her 
and  made  music  on  their  tiny  harps  ;  and  they 
talked  to  her  in  language   too  beautiful  to  be  re- 


SHUI   RHYS   AND  THE  TYLVVYTH   TEG. 

peated ;  indeed  she  couldn't  understand  the  words, 
though  she  knew  well  enough  what  the  fairies 
meant.     Many   a   time   after   that   Shui   was  late ; 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  69 

but  now  nobody  chided  her,  for  fear  of  offending 
the  fairies.  At  last  one  night  Shui  did  not  come 
home  at  all.  In  alarm  the  woods  were  searched  ; 
there  was  no  sign  of  her  ;  and  never  was  she  seen 
in  Cardigan  again.  Her  mother  watched  in  the 
fields  on  the  Teir-nos  Ysprydion,  or  three  nights  of 
the  year  when  goblins  are  sure  to  be  abroad  ;  but 
Shui  never  returned.  Once  indeed  there  came  back 
to  the  neighbourhood  a  wild  rumour  that  Shui  Rhys 
had  been  seen  in  a  great  city  in  a  foreign  land — 
Paris,  perhaps,  or  London,  who  knows  ?  but  this 
tale  was  in  no  way  injurious  to  the  sad  belief  that 
the  fairies  had  carried  her  off;  they  might  take  her 
to  those  well-known  centres  of  idle  and  sinful 
pleasure,  as  well  as  to  any  other  place. 

III. 

An  old  man  who  died  in  St.  Dogmells  parish, 
Pembrokeshire,  a  short  time  since  (viz.,  in  i860), 
nearly  a  hundred  years  old,  used  to  say  that  that 
whole  neighbourhood  was  considered  *  fou.'  It  was 
a  common  experience  for  men  to  be  led  astray  there 
all  night,  and  after  marvellous  adventures  and  un- 
tellable  trampings,  which  seemed  as  if  they  would 
be  endless,  to  find  when  day  broke  that  they  were 
close  to  their  own  homes.  In  one  case,  a  man  who 
was  led  astray  chanced  to  have  with  him  a  number 
of  hoop-rods,  and  as  he  wandered  about  under  the 
influence  of  the  deluding  phantom,  he  was  clever 
enough  to  drop  the  rods  one  by  one,  so  that  next 
day  he  might  trace  his  journeyings.  When  day- 
light came,  and  the  search  for  the  hoop-rods  was 
entered  on,  it  was  found  they  were  scattered  over 
miles  upon  miles  of  country.  Another  time,  a  St. 
Dogmell's  fisherman  was  returning  home  from  a 
wedding  at  Moelgrove,  and  it  being  very  dark,  the 

F    2 


70  British  Goblins. 

fairies  led  him  astray,  but  after  a  few  hours  he  had 
the  good  luck  (which  Sir  John  Franklin  might 
have  envied  him)  to  '  discover  the  North  Pole,'  and 
by  this  beacon  he  was  able  to  steer  his  staggering 
barque  to  the  safe  port  of  his  own  threshold.  It 
is  even  gravely  stated  that  a  severe  and  dignified 
clerical  person,  no  longer  in  the  frisky  time  of  life, 
but  advanced  in  years,  was  one  night  forced  to  join 
in  the  magic  dance  of  St.  Dogmell's,  and  keep  it 
up  till  nearly  daybreak.  Specific  details  in  this 
instance  are  wanting ;  but  it  was  no  doubt  the 
Ellyllon  who  led  all  these  folk  astray,  and  put  a  cap 
of  oblivion  on  their  heads,  which  prevented  them 
from  ever  telling  their  adventures  clearly. 

IV. 

Dancing  and  music  play  a  highly  important  part 
in  stories  of  this  class.  The  Welsh  fairies  are  most 
often  dancing  together  when  seen.  They  seek  to 
entice  mortals  to  dance  with  them,  and  when  any- 
one is  drawn  to  do  so,  it  is  more  than  probable 
he  will  not  return  to  his  friends  for  a  long  time. 
Edmund  William  Rees,  of  Aberystruth,  was  thus 
drawn  away  by  the  fairies,  and  came  back  at  the 
year's  end,  looking  very  bad.  But  he  could  not 
give  a  very  clear  account  of  what  he  had  been 
about,  only  said  he  had  been  dancing.  This  was  a 
common  thing  in  these  cases.  Either  they  were 
not  able  to,  or  they  dared  not,  talk  about  their  expe- 
riences. 

Two  farm  servants  named  Rhys  and  Llewellyn 
were  one  evening  at  twilight  returning  home  from 
their  work,  when  Rhys  cried  out  that  he  heard  the 
fairy  music.  Llewellyn  could  hear  nothing,  but 
Rhys  said  it  was  a  tune  to  which  he  had  danced  a 
hundred  times,  and  would  again,  and  at  once.     '  Go 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  71 

on,'   says  he,   '  and  I'll  soon    catch    you  up   again.' 
Llewellyn  objected,    but  Rhys  stopped   to  hear  no 
more  ;  he  bounded  away  and  left  Llewellyn  to  go 
home    alone,    which    he    did,    believing    Rhys    had 
merely  gone  off  on  a  spree,  and  would  come  home 
drunk  before  morning.     But  the  morning  came,  and 
no  Rhys.     In  vain  search  was  made,  still  no  Rhys. 
Time  passed  on  ;  days  grew  into  months  ;  and  at 
last  suspicion  fell  on  Llewellyn,  that  he  had  murdered 
Rhys.     He  was  put  in  prison.     A  farmer  learned 
in  fairy-lore,  suspecting  how  it  was,  proposed  that 
he  and   a  company  of  neighbours   should  go  with 
poor  Llewellyn  to  the  spot  where  he  had  last  seen 
Rhys.    Agreed.     Arrived  at  the  spot,  '  Hush,'  cried 
Llewellyn,  '  I  hear  music  !   I  hear  the  sweet  music 
of  the  harps  ! '     They  all  listened,  but  could  hear 
nothing.      '  Put    your    foot   on    mine,    David,'    says 
Llewellyn    to    one  of  the  company  ;    his  own  foot 
was  on  the  outward    edge   of  a   fairy  ring  as  he 
spoke.     David  put  his  foot  on  Llewellyn's,  and  so 
did  they  all,  one  after  another ;  and  then  they  heard 
the  sound  of  many  harps,  and  saw  within  a  circle 
about  twenty  feet  across,   great   numbers   of  little 
people  dancing  round  and  round.     And  there  was 
Rhys,  dancing  away  like  a  madman  !     As  he  came 
whirling  by,  Llewellyn   caught  him  by  his  smock- 
frock  and  pulled  him  out  of  the  circle.     '  Where 
are   the   horses  ?    where    are    the    horses  ? '    cried 
Rhys  in    an  excited   manner.      '  Horses,    indeed  ! ' 
sneered  Llewellyn,  in  great  disgust ;  '  wfft !  go  home. 
Horses ! '     But    Rhys  was  for  dancing   longer,  de- 
claring he  had  not  been  there  five  minutes.     '  You've 
been  there,'  says  Llewellyn,  '  long  enough  to  come 
near  getting  me  hanged,  anyhow.'     They  got  him 
home   finally,    but    he    was    never    the   same  man 
again,  and  soon  after  he  died. 


72  British  Goblins, 


V. 

In  the  great  majority  of  these  stories  the  hero 
dies  immediately  after  his  release  from  the  thraldom 
of  the  fairies — in  some  cases  with  a  suddenness  and 
a  completeness  of  obliteration  as  appalling  as 
dramatic.  The  following  story,  well  known  in  Car- 
marthenshire, presents  this  detail  with  much  force  : 
There  was  a  certain  farmer  who,  while  going  early 
one  morning  to  fetch  his  horses  from  the  pasture, 
heard  harps  playing.  Looking  carefully  about  for 
the  source  of  this  music,  he  presently  saw  a  company 
of  Tylwyth  Teg  footing  it  merrily  in  a  corelw. 
Resolving  to  join  their  dance  and  cultivate  their 
acquaintance,  the  farmer  stepped  into  the  fairy  ring. 
Never  had  man  his  resolution  more  thoroughly* 
carried  out,  for  having  once  begun  the  reel  he  was 
not  allowed  to  finish  it  till  years  had  elapsed.  Even 
then  he  might  not  have  been  released,  had  it  not 
chanced  that  a  man  one  day  passed  by  the  lonely 
spot,  so  close  to  the  ring  that  he  saw  the  farmer 
dancing.  '  Duw  catto  ni ! '  cried  the  man,  '  God 
save  us  !  but  this  is  a  merry  one.  Hai,  holo  !  man, 
what,  in  Heaven's  name,  makes  you  so  lively?' 
This  question,  in  which  the  name  of  Heaven  was 
uttered,  broke  the  spell  which  rested  on  the  farmer, 
who  spoke  like  one  in  a  dream  :  '  O  dyn  ! '  cried 
he,  *  what's  become  of  the  horses  ? '  Then  he 
stepped  from  the  fairy  circle  and  instantly  crumbled 
away  and  mingled  his  dust  with  the  earth. 

A  similar  tale  is  told  in  Carnarvon,  but  with  the 
fairy  dance  omitted  and  a  pious  character  substituted, 
which  helps  to  indicate  the  antiquity  of  this  class  of 
legend,  by  showing  that  it  was  one  of  the  monkish 
adoptions  of  an  earlier  story.  Near  Clynog,  in  Car- 
narvonshire, there  is  a   place  called  Llwyn  y  Nef, 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  73 

(the  Bush  of  Heaven,)  which  thus  received  its  name  : 
In  Clynog  lived  a  monk  of  most  devout  Hfe,  who 
longed  to  be  taken  to  heaven.  One  evening,  whilst 
walking  without  the  monastery  by  the  riverside,  he 
sat  down  under  a  green  tree  and  fell  into  a  deep 
reverie,  which  ended  in  sleep  ;  and  he  slept  for 
thousands  of  years.  At  last  he  heard  a  voice  calling 
unto  him,  '  Sleeper,  awake  and  be  up.'  He  awoke. 
All  was  strange  to  him  except  the  old  monastery, 
which  still  looked  down  upon  the  river.  He  went 
to  the  monastery,  and  was  made  much  of.  He 
asked  for  a  bed  to  rest  himself  on  and  got  it.  Next 
morning  when  the  brethren  sought  him,  they  found 
nothing  in  the  bed  but  a  handful  of  ashes.^ 

So  in  the  monkish  tale  of  the  five  saints,  who 
sleep  in  the  cave  of  Caio,  reappears  the  legend  of 
Arthur's  sleeping  warriors  under  Craig-y-Ddinas. 

VI. 

A  tradition  is  current  in  Mathavarn,  in  the  parish 
of  Llanwrin,  and  the  Cantref  of  Cyfeillioc,  con- 
cerning a  certain  wood  called  Ffridd  yr  Ywen,  (the 
Forest  of  the  Yew,)  that  it  is  so  called  on  account  of 
a  magical  yew-tree  which  grows  exactly  in  the 
middle  of  the  forest.  Under  that  tree  there  is  a 
fairy  circle  called  The  Dancing  Place  of  the  Goblin. 
There  are  several  fairy  circles  in  the  Forest  of  the 
Yew,  but  the  one  under  the  yew-tree  in  the  middle 
has  this  legend  connected  with  it :  Many  years 
ago,  two  farm-servants,  whose  names  were  Twm 
and  I  ago,  went  out  one  day  to  work  in  the  Forest 
of  the  Yew.  Early  in  the  afternoon  the  country 
became  covered  with  so  dense  a  mist  that  the 
youths  thought  the  sun  was  setting,  and  they 
prepared  to  go  home  ;  but  when  they  came  to  the 

1  'Cymru  Fu,'  i88. 


74  British  Goblins. 


yew-tree  in  the  middle  of  the  forest,  suddenly  they     \ 
found  all  light  around  them.     They  now  thought  it     i 
too  early  to  go  home,  and  concluded  to  lie  down     ! 
under   the  yew-tree  and   have  a  nap.       By-and-by 
Twm  awoke,  to  find  his  companion  gone.     He  was 
much    surprised   at   this,  but   concluded    I  ago    had 
gone  to  the  village  on  an  errand  of  which  they  had 
been    speaking   before   they  fell   asleep.     So  Twm 
went  home,  and  to  all   inquiries  concerning    I  ago, 
he  answered,  '  Gone  to  the  cobbler's  in  the  village/ 


PLUCKED    FROM    THE    FAIRY    CIRCLE. 


But  lago  was  still  absent  next  morning,  and  now 
Twm  was  cross-questioned  severely  as  to  what  had 
become  of  his  fellow- servant.  Then  he  confessed 
that  they  had  fallen  asleep  under  the  yew  where 
the  fairy  circle  was,  and  from  that  moment  he  had 
seen  nothing  more  of  lago.  They  searched  the 
whole  forest  over,  and  the  whole  country  round,  for 
many  days,  and  finally  Twm  went  to  a  gwr  cyfar- 
wydd  (or  conjuror),  a  common  trade  in  those  days, 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  75 

says  the  legend.  The  conjuror  gave  him  this  advice  : 
'  Go  to  the  same  place  where  you  and  the  lad  slept. 
Go  there  exactly  a  year  after  the  boy  was  lost.  Let 
it  be  on  the  same  day  of  the  year  and  at  the  same 
time  of  the  day  ;  but  take  care  that  you  do  not  step 
inside  the  fairy  ring.  Stand  on  the  border  of  the 
green  circle  you  saw  there,  and  the  boy  will  come 
out  with  many  of  the  goblins  to  dance.  When  you 
see  him  so  near  to  you  that  you  may  take  hold  of 
him,  snatch  him  out  of  the  ring  as  quickly  as  you  can.' 
These  instructions  were  obeyed.  I  ago  appeared, 
dancing  in  the  ring  with  the  Tylwyth  Teg,  and  was 
promptly  plucked  forth.  '  Duw  !  Duw  ! '  cried  Tom, 
'  how  wan  and  pale  you  look  !  And  don't  you  feel 
hungry  too?'  'No,'  said  the  boy,  'and  if  I  did, 
have  I  not  here  in  my  wallet  the  remains  of  my 
dinner  that  I  had  before  I  fell  asleep  ?'  But  when 
he  looked  in  his  wallet,  the  food  was  not  there. 
'  Well,  it  must  be  time  to  go  home,'  he  said,  with  a 
sigh  ;  for  he  did  not  know  that  a  year  had  passed 
by.  His  look  was  like  a  skeleton,  and  as  soon  as 
he  had  tasted  food,  he  mouldered  away. 

VII. 

Taffy  ap  Sion,  the  shoemaker's  son,  living  near 
Pencader,  Carmarthenshire,  was  a  lad  who  many 
years  ago  entered  the  fairy  circle  on  the  mountain 
hard  by  there,  and  having  danced  a  few  minutes, 
as  he  supposed,  chanced  to  step  out.  He  was  then 
astonished  to  find  that  the  scene  which  had  been 
so  familiar  was  now  quite  strange  to  him.  Here 
were  roads  and  houses  he  had  never  seen,  and  in 
place  of  his  father's  humble  cottage  there  now  stood 
a  fine  stone  farmhouse.  About  him  were  lovely 
cultivated  fields  instead  of  the  barren  mountain  he 
was   acccustomed   to.       '  Ah,'   thought  he,   '  this  is 


76  British  Goblins, 


. 


some  fairy  trick  to  deceive  my  eyes.  It  is  not  ten 
minutes  since  I  stepped  into  that  circle,  and  now 
when  I  step  out  they  have  built  my  father  a  new 
house !  Well,  I  only  hope  it  is  real ;  anyhow,  TU 
go  and  see.'  So  he  started  off  by  a  path  he 
knew  instinctively,  and  suddenly  struck  against  a 
very  solid  hedge.  He  rubbed  his  eyes,  felt  the 
hedge  with  his  fingers,  scratched  his  head,  felt  the 
hedge  again,  ran  a  thorn  into  his  fingers  and  cried  1 
out,  *  Wbwb !  this  is  no  fairy  hedge  anyhow,  nor,  \ 
from  the  age  of  the  thorns,  was  it  grown  in  a  few  \ 
minutes'  time.'  So  he  climbed  over  it  and  walked  j 
on.  '  Here  was  I  born,'  said  he,  as  he  entered  the 
farmyard,  staring  wildly  about  him,  '  and  not  a  thing  j 
here  do  I  know  ! '  His  mystification  was  complete 
when  there  came  bounding  towards  him  a  huge  dog,  \ 
barking  furiously.  '  What  dog  is  this  ?  Get  out,  ' 
you  ugly  brute  !  Don't  you  know  I'm  master  here  ?  1 
— at  least,  when  mother's  from  home,  for  father  ,1 
don't  count.'  But  the  dog  only  barked  the  harder. 
'  Surely,'  muttered  Taffy  to  himself,  '  I  have  lost 
my  road  and  am  wandering  through  some  unknown  j 
neighbourhood  ;  but  no,  yonder  is  the  Careg  Hir ! '  ; 
and  he  stood  staring  at  the  well-known  erect  stone  \ 
thus  called,  which  still  stands  on  the  mountain  south  \ 
of  Pencader,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  placed  j 
there  in  ancient  times  to  commemorate  a  victory.  \ 
As  Taffy  stood  thus  looking  at  the  Long  Stone,  he  { 
heard  footsteps  behind  him,  and  turning,  beheld  the  \ 
occupant  of  the  farmhouse,  who  had  come  out  to  i 
see  why  his  dog  was  barking.  Poor  Taffy  was  so  1 
ragged  and  wan  that  the  farmer's  Welsh  heart  was  ' 
at  once  stirred  to  sympathy.  *  Who  are  you,  poor  '  ! 
man  ? '  he  asked.  To  which  Taffy  answered,  '  I 
know  who  I  was,  but  I  do  not  know  who  I  am  now.  \ 
*  I    was  the  son  of  a  shoemaker  who  lived  in  this      j 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  77 

place,  this  morning ;  for  that  rock,  though  it  is 
changed  a  little,  I  know  too  well.'  '  Poor  fellow,' 
said  the  farmer,  *  you  have  lost  your  senses.  This 
house  was  built  by  my  great-grandfather,  repaired  by 
my  grandfather ;  and  that  part  there,  which  seems 
newly  built,  was  done  about  three  years  ago  at 
my  expense.  You  must  be  deranged,  or  have  missed 
the  road  ;  but  come  in  and  refresh  yourself  with 
some  victuals,  and  rest.'  Taffy  was  half  persuaded 
that  he  had  overslept  himself  and  lost  his  road,  but 
looking  back  he  saw  the  rock  before  mentioned, 
and  exclaimed,  *  It  is  but  an  hour  since  I  was  on 
yonder  rock  robbing  a  hawk's  nest.'  '  Where  have 
you  been  since  ? '  Taffy  related  his  adventure. 
'  Ah,'  quoth  the  farmer,  '  I  see  how  it  is — you  have 
been  with  the  fairies.  Pray,  who  was  your  father  ? ' 
'  Sion  Evan  y  Crydd  o  Glanrhyd,'  was  the  answer. 

*  I  never  heard  of  such  a  man,'  said  the  farmer, 
shaking  his  head,  '  nor  of  such  a  place  as  Glanrhyd, 
either :  but  no  matter,  after  you  have  taken  a  little 
food  we  will  step  down  to  Catti  Shon,  at  Pencader, 
who  will  probably  be  able  to  tell  us  something.' 
With  this  he  beckoned  Taffy  to  follow  him,  and 
walked  on  ;  but  hearing  behind  him  the  sound  of 
footsteps  growing  weaker  and  weaker,  he  turned 
round,  when  to  his  horror  he  beheld  the  poor  fellow 
crumble  in  an  instant  to  about  a  thimbleful  of  black 
ashes.  The  farmer,  though  much  terrified  at  this 
sight,  preserved  his  calmness  sufficiently  to  go  at 
once  and  see  old  Catti,  the  aged  crone  he  had 
referred  to,  who  lived  at  Pencader,  near  by.  He 
found  her  crouching  over  a  fire  of  faggots,  trying  to 
warm  her  old  bones.  *  And  how  do  you  do  the  day, 
Catti  Shon  ? '  asked  the  farmer.     '  Ah,'  said  old  Catti, 

*  I'm  wonderful  well,  farmer,  considering  how  old  I 
am.'     '  Yes,  yes,  you're  very  old.     Now,  since  you 


78  British  Goblins. 


are  so  old,  let  me  ask  you — do  you  remember  any- 
thing about  Sion  y  Crydd  o  Glanrhyd  ?  Was  there 
ever  such  a  man,  do  you  know  ? '  '  Slon  Glanrhyd  ? 
O  !  I  have  some  faint  recollection  of  hearing  my 
grandfather,  old  Evan  Shenkin,  Penferdir,  relate  that 
Sion's  son  was  lost  one  morning,  and  they  never 
heard  of  him  afterwards,  so  that  it  was  said  he  was 
taken  by  the  fairies.  His  fathers  cot  stood  some 
where  near  your  house.'  '  Were  there  many  fairies 
about  at  that  time  ? '  asked  the  farmer.  '  O  yes  ; 
they  were  often  seen  on  yonder  hill,  and  I  was  told 
they  were  lately  seen  in  Pant  Shon  Shenkin,  eating 
flummery  out  of  egg-shells,  which  they  had  stolen 
from  a  farm  hard  by.'  *  Dir  anwyl  fi  ! '  cried  the 
farmer ;  '  dear  me  !  I  recollect  now — I  saw  them 
myself ! ' 

Pant  Shon^  Shenkin,  it  must  be  here  remarked, 
was  a  famous  place  for  the  Carmarthenshire  fairies. 
The  traditions  thereabout  respecting  them  are 
numerous.  Among  the  strangest  is,  that  a  woman 
once  actually  caught  a  fairy  on  the  mountain  near 
Pant  Shon  Shenkin,  and  that  it  remained  long  in 
her  custody,  retaining  still  the  same  height  and  size, 
but  at  last  made  its  escape. 

Another  curious  tradition  relates  that  early  one 
Easter  Monday,  when  the  parishioners  of  Pencarreg 
and  Caio  were  met  to  play  at  football,  they  saw  a 
numerous  company  of  Tylwyth  Teg  dancing.  Being 
so  many  in  number,  the  young  men  were  not 
intimidated  at  all,  but  proceeded  in  a  body  towards 
the  puny  tribe,  who^  perceiving  them,  removed  to 

^  Sion  and  Shon  are  the  same  word,  just  as  are  our  Smith  and 
Smyth.  Where  there  are  so  few  personal  names  as  in  Wales,  while 
1  would  not  myself  change  a  single  letter  in  order  to  render  the 
actors  in  a  tale  more  distinct,  it  is  perhaps  as  well  to  encourage 
any  eccentricities  of  spelling  which  we  are  so  lucky  as  to  find  on  the 
spot. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  79 

another  place.  The  young  men  followed,  whereupon 
the  little  folks  suddenly  appeared  dancing  at  the 
first  place.  Seeing  this,  the  men  divided  and 
surrounded  them,  when  they  immediately  became 
invisible,  and  were  never  more  seen  there. 

VIII. 

Ignorance  of  what  transpired  in  the  fairy  circle 
is  not  an  invariable  feature  of  legends  like  those  we 
have  been  observing.  In  the  story  of  Tudur  of 
Llangollen,  preserved  by  several  old  Welsh  writers, 
the  hero's  experiences  are  given  with  much  liveliness 
of  detail.  The  scene  of  this  tale  is  a  hollow  near 
Llangollen,  on  the  mountain  side  half-way  up  to  the 
ruins  of  Dinas  Bran  Castle,  which  hollow  is  to  this 
day  called  Nant  yr  EUyllon.  It  obtained  its  name, 
according  to  tradition,  in  this  wise  :  A  young  man, 
called  Tudur  ap  Einion  Gloff,  used  in  old  times  to 
pasture  his  master's  sheep  in  that  hollow.  One  sum- 
mer's night,  when  Tudur  was  preparing  to  return 
to  the  lowlands  with  his  woolly  charge,  there  sud- 
denly appeared,  perched  upon  a  stone  near  him,  *  a 
little  man  in  moss  breeches  with  a  fiddle  under  his 
arm.  He  was  the  tiniest  wee  specimen  of  humanity 
imaginable.  His  coat  was  made  of  birch  leaves,  and 
he  wore  upon  his  head  a  helmet  which  consisted  of 
a  gorse  flower,  while  his  feet  were  encased  in  pumps 
made  of  beetle's  wings.  He  ran  his  fingers  over 
his  instrument,  and  the  music  made  Tudur's  hair 
stand  on  end.  "  Nos  da'ch',  nos  da'ch',"  said  the  little 
man,  which  means  ''  Good-night,  good-night  to  you," 
in  English.  ''  Ac  i  chwithau,"  replied  Tudur ;  which 
again,  in  English,  means  "■  The  same  to  you."  Then 
continued  the  little  man,  "  You  are  fond  of  dancing, 
Tudur  ;  and  if  you  but  tarry  awhile  you  shall  behold 
some  of  the  best  dancers  in  Wales,  and  I  am  the 


8o  British  Goblins. 


musician."  Quoth  Tudur,  "Then  where  is  your 
harp  ?  A  Welshman  even  cannot  dance  without  a 
harp."  ''  Oh,"  said  the  Httle  man,  ''  I  can  discourse 
better  dance  music  upon  my  fiddle."  "  Is  it  a  fiddle 
you  call  that  stringed  wooden  spoon  in  your  hand  ?  " 
asked  Tudur,  for  he  had  never  seen  such  an  instru- 
ment before.  And  now  Tudur  beheld  through  the 
dusk  hundreds  of  pretty  little  sprites  converging 
towards  the  spot  where  they  stood,  from  all  parts 
of  the  mountain.  Some  were  dressed  in  white,  and 
some  in  blue,  and  some  in  pink,  and  some  carried 
glow-worms  in  their  hands  for  torches.  And  so 
lightly  did  they  tread  that  not  a  blade  nor  a  flower 
was  crushed  beneath  their  weight,  and  every  one 
made  a  curtsey  or  a  bow  to  Tudur  as  they  passed, 
and  Tudur  doffed  his  cap  and  moved  to  them  in 
return.  Presently  the  little  minstrel  drew  his  bow 
across  the  strings  of  his  instrument,  and  the  music 
produced  was  so  enchanting  that  Tudur  stood  trans- 
fixed to  the  spot.'  At  the  sound  of  the  sweet  melody, 
the  Tylwyth  Teg  ranged  themselves  in  groups,  and 
began  to  dance.  Now  of  all  the  dancing  Tudur 
had  ever  seen,  none  was  to  be  compared  to  that 
he  saw  at  this  moment  going  on.  He  could  not 
help  keeping  time  with  his  hands  and  feet  to  the 
merry  music,  but  he  dared  not  join  in  the  dance,  '  for 
he  thought  within  himself  that  to  dance  on  a 
mountain  at  night  in  strange  company,  to  perhaps 
the  devil's  fiddle,  might  not  be  the  most  direct  route 
to  heaven.'  But  at  last  he  found  there  was  no  resist- 
ing this  bewitching  strain,  joined  to  the  sight  of 
the  capering  Ellyllon.  '  '*  Now  for  it,  then,"  screamed 
Tudur,  as  he  pitched  his  cap  into  the  air  under  the 
excitement  of  delight.  *'  Play  away,  old  devil  ; 
brimstone  and  water,  if  you  like  !  "  No  sooner  were 
the   words   uttered   than   everything   underwent   a 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  8 1 

change.  The  gorse-blossom  cap  vanished  from  the 
minstrel's  head,  and  a  pair  of  goat's  horns  branched 
out  instead.  His  face  turned  as  black  as  soot ;  a 
long  tail  grew  out  of  his  leafy  coat,  while  cloven 
feet  replaced  the  beetle-wing  pumps.  Tudur's  heart 
was  heavy,  but  his  heels  were  light.  Horror  was 
in  his  bosom,  but  the  impetus  of  motion  was  in  his 
feet.  The  fairies  changed  into  a  variety  of  forms. 
Some  became  goats,  and  some  became  dogs,  some 
assumed  the  shape  of  foxes,  and  others  that  of  cats. 
It  was  the  strangest  crew  that  ever  surrounded  a 
human  being.  The  dance  became  at  last  so  furious 
that  Tudur  could  not  distinctly  make  out  the  forms 
of  the  dancers.  They  reeled  around  him  with  such 
rapidity  that  they  almost  resembled  a  wheel  of  fire. 
Still  Tudur  danced  on.  He  could  not  stop,  the 
devil's  fiddle  was  too  much  for  him,  as  the  figure 
with  the  goat's  horns  kept  pouring  it  out  with 
unceasing  vigour,  and  Tudur  kept  reeling  around  in 
spite  of  himself.  Next  day  Tudur's  master  ascended 
the  mountain  in  search  of  the  lost  shepherd  and  his 
sheep.  He  found  the  sheep  all  right  at  the  foot  of 
the  Fron,  but  fancy  his  astonishment  when,  ascend- 
ing higher,  he  saw  Tudur  spinning  like  mad  in  the 
middle  of  the  basin  now  known  as  Nant  yr  Ellyllon.' 
Some  pious  words  of  the  master  broke  the  charm, 
and  restored  Tudur  to  his  home  in  Llangollen, 
where  he  told  his  adventures  with  great  gusto  for 

many  years  afterwards.^ 

IX. 

Polly  Williams,  a  good  dame  who  was  born  in 
Trefethin  parish,  and  lived  at  the  Ship  Inn,  at 
Pontypool,  Monmouthshire,  was  wont  to  relate  that, 
when  a  child,  she  danced  with  the  Tylwyth  Teg. 
The  first  time  was  one  day  while  coming  home  from 

1  Rev.  T.  R.  Lloyd  (Estyn),  in  '  The  Principality.' 


82  British  Goblins. 


school.  She  saw  the  fairies  dancing  in  a  pleasant, 
dry  place,  under  a  crab-tree,  and,  thinking  they 
were  children  like  herself,  went  to  them,  when  they 
induced  her  to  dance  with  them.  She  brought 
them  into  an  empty  barn  and  they  danced  there 
together.  After  that,  during  three  or  four  years, 
she  often  met  and  danced  with  them,  when  going  to 
or  coming  from  school.  She  never  could  hear  the 
sound  of  their  feet,  and  having  come  to  know  that 
they  were  fairies,  took  off  her  ffollachau  (clogs),  so 
that  she,  too,  might  make  no  noise,  fearful  that  the 
clattering  of  her  clog-shodden  feet  was  displeasing 
to  them.  They  were  all  dressed  in  blue  and  green 
aprons,  and,  though  they  were  so  small,  she  could 
see  by  their  mature  faces  that  they  were  no  children. 
Once  when  she  came  home  barefoot,  after  dancing 
with  the  fairies,  she  was  chided  for  going  to  school 
in  that  condition  ;  but  she  held  her  tongue  about  the 
fairies,  for  fear  of  trouble,  and  never  told  of  them 
till  after  she  grew  up.  She  gave  over  going  with 
them  to  dance,  however,  after  three  or  four  years, 
and  this  displeased  them.  They  tried  to  coax  her 
back  to  them,  and,  as  she  would  not  come,  hurt  her 
by  dislocating  'one  of  her  walking  members,'^ 
which,  as  a  euphemism  for  legs,  surpasses  anything 
charged  against  American  prudery. 

X. 

Contrasting  strongly  with  this  matter-of-fact 
account  of  a  modern  witness  is  the  glowing  descrip- 
tion of  fairy  life  contained  in  the  legend  of  the 
Fairies  of  Frennifawr.  About  ten  miles  south  of 
Cardigan  is  the  Pembrokeshire  mountain  called 
Frennifawr,  which  is  the  scene  of  this  tale :  A 
shepherd's  lad  was  tending  his  sheep  on  the  small 

^  Jones,  '  Apparitions.' 


The  Realm  of  Faerie,  83 

mountains  called  Frennifach  one  fine  morning  in 
June.  Looking  to  the  top  of  Frennifawr  to  note 
what  way  the  fog  hung — for  if  the  fog  on  that 
mountain  hangs  on  the  Pembrokeshire  side,  there 
will  be  fair  weather,  if  on  the  Cardigan  side,  storm 
— he  saw  the  Tylwyth  Teg,  in  appearance  like 
tiny  soldiers,  dancing  in  a  ring.  He  set  out  for 
the  scene  of  revelry,  and  soon  drew  near  the  ring 
where,  in  a  gay  company  of  males  and  females,  they 
were  footing  it  to  the  music  of  the  harp.  Never 
had  he  seen  such  handsome  people,  nor  any  so 
enchantingly  cheerful.  They  beckoned  him  with 
laughing  faces  to  join  them  as  they  leaned  backward 
almost  falling,  whirling  round  and  round  with  joined 
hands.  Those  who  were  dancing  never  swerved  from 
the  perfect  circle ;  but  some  were  clambering  over  the 
old  cromlech,  and  others  chasing  each  other  with  sur- 
prising swiftness  and  the  greatest  glee.  Still  others 
rode  about  on  small  white  horses  of  the  most  beautiful 
form  ;  these  riders  were  little  ladies,  and  their  dresses 
were  indescribably  elegant,  surpassing  the  sun  in 
radiance,  and  varied  in  colour,  some  being  of  bright 
whiteness,  others  the  most  vivid  scarlet.  The  males 
wore  red  tripled  caps,  and  the  ladies  a  light  fantastic 
headdress  which  waved  in  the  wind.  All  this  was 
in  silence,  for  the  shepherd  could  not  hear  the  harps, 
though  he  saw  them.  But  now  he  drew  nearer  to 
the  circle,  and  finally  ventured  to  put  his  foot  in  the 
magic  ring.  The  instant  he  did  this,  his  ears  were 
charmed  with  strains  of  the  most  melodious  music 
he  had  ever  heard.  Moved  with  the  transports  this 
seductive  harmony  produced  in  him,  he  stepped 
fully  into  the  ring.  He  was  no  sooner  in  than  he 
found  himself  in  a  palace  glittering  with  gold  and 
pearls.  Every  form  of  beauty  surrounded  him,  and 
every  variety  of  pleasure  was  offered  him.     He  was 


84  British  Goblins. 


made  free  to  range  whither  he  would,  and  his  every 
movement  was  waited  on  by  young  women  of  the 
most  matchless  loveliness.  And  no  tongue  can  tell 
the  joys  of  feasting  that  were  his  !  Instead  of  the 
tatws-a-llaeth  (potatoes  and  butter-milk)  to  which 
he  had  hitherto  been  accustomed,  here  were  birds 
and  meats  of  every  choice  description,  served  on 
plates  of  silver.  Instead  of  home-brewed  cwrw,  the 
only  bacchic  beverage  he  had  ever  tasted  in  real  life, 
here  were  red  and  yellow  wines  of  wondrous 
enjoyableness,  brought  in  golden  goblets  richly 
inlaid  with  gems.  The  waiters  were  the  most 
beautiful  virgins,  and  everything  was  in  abundance. 
There  was  but  one  restriction  on  his  freedom  :  he 
must  not  drink,  on  any  consideration,  from  a  certain 
well  In  the  garden,  in  which  swam  fishes  of  every 
colour.  Including  the  colour  of  gold.  Each  day  new 
joys  were  provided  for  his  amusement,  new  scenes 
of  beauty  were  unfolded  to  him,  new  faces  presented 
themselves,  more  lovely  if  possible  than  those  he 
had  before  encountered.  Everything  was  done  to 
charm  him  ;  but  one  day  all  his  happiness  fled  in  an 
instant.  Possessing  every  joy  that  mortal  could 
desire,  he  wanted  the  one  thing  forbidden — like  Eve 
in  the  garden,  like  Fatima  in  the  castle ;  curiosity 
undid  him.  He  plunged  his  hand  into  the  well  : 
the  fishes  all  disappeared  instantly.  He  put  the 
water  to  his  mouth  :  a  confused  shriek  ran  through 
the  garden.  He  drank  :  the  palace  and  all  vanished 
from  his  sight,  and  he  stood  shivering  in  the  night 
air,  alone  on  the  mountain,  in  the  very  place  where 
he  had  first  entered  the  ring.^ 

*  *  Cambrian  Superstitions,'  148.  (This  is  a  small  collection  of 
Welsh  stories  printed  at  Tipton  in  1831,  and  now  rare  ;  its  author  was 
W.  Howells,  a  lad  of  nineteen,  and  his  work  was  drawn  out  by  a  small 
prize  offered  by  Archdeacon  Beynon  through  a  Carmarthen  newspaper 
in  1830.     Its  Enghsh  requires  rehandling,  but  its  material  is  of  value.) 


The  Realm  of  Faerie. 


85 


XI. 


Comment  on  the  resemblances  borne  by  these 
tales  to  the  more  famous  legends  of  other  lands,  is 
perhaps  unnecessary  ;  they  will  occur  to  every  reader 


THE   FATAL   DRAUGHT. 

who  is  at  all  familiar  with  the  subject  of  folk-lore. 
To  those  who  are  not,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  these 
resemblances  exist,  and  afford  still  further  testimony 
to  the  common  origin  of  such  tales  in  a  remote  past. 
The  legend  last  given  embodies  the  curiosity  feature 
which  is    familiar   through   the  story  of  Bluebeard, 


G   2 


86  British  Goblins. 


but  has  its  root  in  the  story  of  Psyche.     She  was 
forbidden  to  look  upon  her  husband  Eros,  the  god 
of  love  ;    she    disobeyed    the    injunction,   and    the 
beautiful    palace    in    which    she    had    dwelt    with 
him  vanished  in  an  instant,  leaving  her  alone  in  a 
desolate  spot.     Ages  older  than  the  Psyche  story, 
however,    is    the    legend    embodying    the    original 
Aryan  myth.     The  drop  of  oil  which  falls  upon  the 
shoulder   of  the    sleeping   prince    and  wakes    him, 
revealing  Psyche^s  curiosity  and  destroying  her  hap- 
piness, is  paralleled  among  the  Welsh  by  the  magic 
ointment  in  the  legend  of  the  Fiend  Master.     This 
legend,  it  may  be  premised,  is  also  familiar  to  both 
France  and   Germany,  where  its  details  differ  but 
little  from  those  here  given  :   A  respectable  young 
Welshwoman  of  the  working  class,  who  lived  with 
her  parents,  went  one  day  to  a  hiring  fair.     Here  she 
'  was  addressed  by  a  very  noble-looking  gentleman 
all  in  black,  who  asked  her  if  she  would  be  a  nurse- 
maid, and  undertake   the  management   of  his  chil- 
dren.    She  replied  that  she  had  no  objection  ;  when 
he  promised  her  immense  wages,  and  said  he  would 
take  her  home  behind  him,  but  that  she  must,  before 
they  started,  consent  to  be  blindfolded.     This  done, 
she  mounted  behind  him  on  a  coal-black  steed,  and 
away  they  rode  at  a  great   rate.     At   length  they 
dismounted,  when  her  new  master  took  her  by  the 
hand  and  led  her  on,  still   blindfolded,  for   a   con- 
siderable   distance.       The   handkerchief  was    then 
removed,  when  she  beheld  more  grandeur  than  she 
had  ever  seen  before  ;  a  beautiful  palace  lighted  up 
by  more  lights  than  she  could  count,  and  a  number 
of  little  children  as  beautiful  as  angels ;  also  many 
noble-looking  ladies  and  gentlemen.     The  children 
her  master  put  under  her  charge,  and  gave  her  a 
box  containing  ointment,  which  she  was  to  put  on 


I 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  87 

their  eyes.  At  the  same  time  he  gave  her  strict 
orders  always  to  wash  her  hands  immediately  after 
using  the  ointment,  and  be  particularly  careful  never 
to  let  a  bit  of  it  touch  her  own  eyes.  These 
injunctions  she  strictly  followed,  and  was  for  some 
time  very  happy ;  yet  she  sometimes  thought  it  odd 
that  they  should  always  live  by  candle-light  ;  and 
she  wondered,  too,  that  grand  and  beautiful  as  the 
palace  was,  such  fine  ladies  and  gentlemen  as  were 
there  should  never  wish  to  leave  it.  But  so  it  was ; 
no  one  ever  went  out  but  her  master.  One  morning, 
while  putting  the  ointment  on  the  eyes  of  the 
children,  her  own  eye  itched,  and  forgetting  the 
orders  of  her  master  she  touched  one  corner  of  it 
with  her  finger  which  was  covered  with  ointment. 
Immediately,  with  the  vision  of  that  corner  of  her 
eye,  she  saw  herself  surrounded  by  fearful  flames  ; 
the  ladies  and  gentlemen  looked  like  devils,  and 
the  children  appeared  like  the  most  hideous  imps  of 
hell.  Though  with  the  other  parts  of  her  eyes  she 
beheld  all  grand  and  beautiful  as  before,  she  could 
not  help  feeling  much  frightened  at  all  this  ;  but 
having  great  presence  of  mind  she  let  no  one  see 
her  alarm.  However,  she  took  the  first  opportunity 
of  asking  her  masters  leave  to  go  and  see  her 
friends.  He  said  he  would  take  her,  but  she  must 
again  consent  to  be  blindfolded.  Accordingly  a 
handkerchief  was  put  over  her  eyes ;  she  was  again 
mounted  behind  her  master,  and  was  soon  put 
down  in  the  neighbourhood  of  her  own  house.  It 
will  be  believed  that  she  remained  quietly  there,  and 
took  good  care  not  to  return  to  her  place ;  but 
very  many  years  afterwards,  being  at  a  fair,  she 
saw  a  man  stealing  something  from  a  stall,  and  with 
one  corner  of  her  eye  beheld  her  old  master  pushing 
his   elbow.      Unthinkingly  she  said,  ''How  are  you 


88  British  Goblins. 


master?  how  are  the  children?"  He  said,  ''How 
did  you  see  me  ?"  She  answered,  "  With  the  corner 
of  my  left  eye."  From  that  moment  she  was  blind 
of  her  left  eye,  and  lived  many  years  with  only  her 
right.'  ^  An  older  legend  preserving  this  mythical 
detail  is  the  story  of  Taliesin.  Gwion  Bach's  eyes 
are  opened  by  a  drop  from  Caridwen's  caldron 
falling  upon  his  finger,  which  he  puts  in  his  mouth. 

XII. 

A  Carmarthenshire  tradition  names  among  those 
who  lived  for  a  period  among  the  Tylwyth  Teg  no 
less  a  person  than  the  translator  into  Welsh  of 
Bunyan's  '  Pilgrim's  Progress.'  He  was  called 
I  ago  ap  Dewi,  and  lived  in  the  parish  of  Llan- 
llawddog,  Carmarthenshire,  in  a  cottage  situated  in 
the  wood  of  Llangwyly.  He  was  absent  from  the 
neighbourhood  for  a  long  period,  and  the  universal 
belief  among  the  peasantry  was  that  I  ago  '  got  out 
of  bed  one  night  to  gaze  on  the  starry  sky,  as  he 
was  accustomed  (astrology  being  one  of  his  favourite 
studies),  and  whilst  thus  occupied  the  fairies  (who 
were  accustomed  to  resort  in  a  neighbouring 
wood),  passing  by,  carried  him  away,  and  he 
dwelt  with  them  seven  years.  Upon  his  return 
he  was  questioned  by  many  as  to  where  he  had 
been,  but  always  avoided  giving  them  a  reply.' 

Ml 

The  wide  field  of  interest  opened  up  in  tales  of 
this  class  is  a  fascinating  one  to  the  students  of 
fairy  mythology.  The  whole  world  seems  to  be 
the  scene  of  such  tales,  and  collectors  of  folk-lore 
in  many  lands  have  laid  claim  to  the  discovery  of 

^  '  Camb.  Sup.,'  349. 


II 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  89 

'  the  original '  on  which  the  story  of  Rip  van  Winkle 
is  based.  It  is  an  honour  to  American  genius,  to 
which  I  cannot  forbear  a  passing  allusion,  that  of 
all  these  legends,  none  has  achieved  so  wide  a  fame 
as  that  which  Washington  Irving  has  given  to  our 
literature,  and  Joseph  Jefferson  to  our  stage.  It 
is  more  than  probable  that  Irving  drew  his  inspi- 
ration from  Grimm,  and  that  the  Catskills  are 
indebted  to  the  Hartz  Mountains  of  Germany  for 
their  romantic  fame.  But  the  legends  are  endless 
in  which  occur  this  unsuspected  lapse  of  time 
among  supernatural  beings,  and  the  wandering  back 
to  the  old  home  to  find  all  changed.  In  Greece, 
it  is  Epimenides,  the  poet,  who,  while  searching  for 
a  lost  sheep,  wanders  into  a  cave  where  he  slumbers 
forty-seven  years.  The  Gaelic  and  Teutonic  legends 
are  well  known.  But  our  wonder  at  the  vitality 
of  this  myth  is  greatest  when  we  find  it  in  both 
China  and  Japan.  In  the  Japanese  account  a 
young  man  fishing  in  his  boat  on  the  ocean  is 
invited  by  the  goddess  of  the  sea  to  her  home 
beneath  the  waves.  After  three  days  he  desires 
to  see  his  old  mother  and  father.  On  parting  she 
gives  him  a  golden  casket  and  a  key,  but  begs  him 
never  to  open  it.  At  the  village  where  he  lived 
he  finds  that  all  is  changed,  and  he  can  get  no  trace 
of  his  parents  until  an  aged  woman  recollects  having 
heard  of  their  names.  He  finds  their  graves  a 
hundred  years  old.  Thinking  that  three  days  could 
not  have  made  such  a  change,  and  that  he  was 
under  a  spell,  he  opens  the  casket.  A  white 
vapour  rises,  and  under  its  influence  the  young 
man  falls  to  the  ground.  His  hair  turns  grey,  his 
form  loses  its  youth,  and  in  a  few  moments  he 
dies  of  old  age.  The  Chinese  legend  relates  how 
two  friends  wandering  amongst  the  ravines  of  their 


90 


British  Goblins. 


native  mountains  in  search  of  herbs  for  medicinal 
purposes,  come  to  a  fairy  bridge  where  two  maidens 
of  more  than  earthly  beauty  are  on  guard.  They 
invite  them  to  the  fairy  land  which  lies  on  the 
other  side  of  the  bridge,  and  the  invitation  being 
accepted,  they  become  enamoured  of  the  maidens, 
and  pass  what  to  them  seems  a  short  though 
blissful  period  of  existence  with  the  fairy  folk.  At 
length  they  desire  to  revisit  their  earthly  homes 
and  are  allowed  to  return,  when  they  find  that 
seven  generations  have  lived  and  died  during  their 
apparently  short  absence,  they  themselves  having 
become  centenarians.^  In  China,  as  elsewhere,  the 
legend  takes  divers  forms. 


Denny s,  *  Folk-Lore  of  China,' 


The  Realm  of  Faerie,  91 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Fairy  Music — Birds  of  Enchantment — The  Legend  of  Shon  ap  Shenkin 
— Harp-Music  m.  Welsh  Fairy  Tales — Legend  of  the  Magic  Harp 
— Songs  and  Tunes  of  the  Tylwyth  Teg — The  Legend  of  lolo  ap 
Hugh — Mystic  Origin  of  an  old  Welsh  Air. 

I. 

In  those  rare  cases  where  it  Is  not  dancing  which 
holds  the  victim  of  Tylwyth  Teg  in  its  fatal  fascina- 
tion, the  seducer  is  music.  There  is  a  class  of 
stories  still  common  in  Wales,  In  which  is  preserved 
a  wondrously  beautiful  survival  of  the  primitive 
mythology.  In  the  vast  middle  ground  between 
our  own  commonplace  times  and  the  pre-historic 
ages  we  encounter  more  than  once  the  lovely  legend 
of  the  Birds  of  Rhiannon,  which  sang  so  sweetly  that 
the  warrior  knights  stood  listening  entranced  for 
eighty  years.  This  legend  appears  in  the  Mabinogi 
of  '  Bran  wen,  daughter  of  Llyr,'  and,  as  we  read  it 
there,  is  a  medieval  tale  ;  but  the  medieval  authors 
of  the  Mabinogion  as  we  know  them  were  working 
over  old  materials — telling  again  the  old  tales  which 
had  come  down  through  unnumbered  centuries  from 
father  to  son  by  tradition.  Cambrian  poets  of  an 
earlier  age  often  allude  to  the  birds  of  Rhiannon  ; 
they  are  mentioned  in  the  Triads.  In  the  Mabinogi, 
the  period  the  warriors  listened  is  seven  years. 
Seven  men  only  had  escaped  from  a  certain  battle 
with  the  Irish,  and  they  were  bidden  by  their  dying 
chief  to  cut  off  his  head  and  bear  it  to  London  and 
bury  it  with  the  face  towards  France.     Various  were 


British  Goblins. 


the  adventures  they  encountered  while  obeying  this 
injunction.     At  Harlech  they  stopped  to  rest,  and 
sat  down  to  eat  and  drink.     '  And  there  came  three 
birds,  and  began  singing  unto  them  a  certain  song, 
and    all    the    songs    they   had    ever    heard    were 
unpleasant  compared  thereto  ;  and  the  birds  seemed 
to  them  to  be  at  a  great  distance  from  them  over 
the   sea,  yet   they  appeared   as  distinct  as  if  they 
were  close  by  ;  and  at  this  repast  they  continued 
seven  years.'  ^     This  enchanting  fancy  reappears  in 
the   local   story   of  Shon   ap  Shenkin,  which   v/as 
related  to  me  by  a  farmer's  wife  near  the  reputed 
scene    of    the    legend.      Pant   Shon    Shenkin   has 
already  been   mentioned   as   a   famous   centre   for 
Carmarthenshire    fairies.      The  story   of  Taffy  ap 
Sion  and  this  of  Shon  ap  Shenkin  were  probably 
one  and  the  same  at  some  period  in  their  career, 
although  they  are  now  distinct.     Shon  ap  Shenkin 
was  a   young  man  who  lived  hard  by   Pant  Shon 
Shenkin.     As   he   was  going  afield  early  one  fine 
summer's  morning  he  heard  a  little  bird  singing,  in 
a  most  enchanting  strain,  on  a  tree  close  by  his  path. 
Allured  by  the  melody  he  sat  down  under  the  tree 
until  the  music  ceased,  when  he  arose  and  looked 
about   him.     What   was   his   surprise  at  observing 
that  the  tree,  which  was  green  and  full  of  life  when 
he    sat    down,    was   now   withered   and   barkless ! 
Filled  with  astonishment  he  returned  to  the  farm- 
house  which    he  had  left,   as  he  supposed,  a  few 
minutes   before ;   but    it   also   was  changed,  grown 
older,  and  covered  with  ivy.     In  the  doorway  stood 
an  old  man  whom  he  had  never  before  seen  ;  he  at 
once  asked   the  old  man    what   he   wanted   there. 
*  What  do  I  want  here  ? '  ejaculated  the  old  man, 
reddening  angrily  ;  *  that's  a  pretty  question  !     Who 

1  Lady  Charlotte  Guest's  '  Mabinogion,'  381. 


■ 


The  Realm  of  Faerie. 


93 


are  you  that  dare  to  insult  me  in  my  own  house  ?  ' 
'  In   your   own  house  ?     How  is  this  ?  where's  my 


SHON   AP   SHENKIN    RETURNS    HOME. 


father  and  mother,  whom  I  left  here  a  few  minutes 
since,  whilst  I  have  been  listening  to  the  charming 


94  British  Goblins. 


music  under  yon  tree,  which,  when  I  rose,  was 
withered  and  leafless  ?'  '  Under  the  tree  ! — music  ! 
what's  your  name  ? '  Shon  ap  Shenkin/  '  Alas, 
poor  Shon,  and  is  this  indeed  you  ! '  cried  the  old 
man.  '  I  often  heard  my  grandfather,  your  father, 
speak  of  you,  and  long  did  he  bewail  your  absence. 
Fruitless  inquiries  were  made  for  you  ;  but  old  Catti 
Maddock  of  Brechfa  said  you  were  under  the  power 
of  the  fairies,  and  would  not  be  released  until  the 
last  sap  of  that  sycamore  tree  would  be  dried  up. 
Embrace  me,  my  dear  uncle,  for  you  are  my  uncle 
— embrace  your  nephew.'  With  this  the  old  man 
extended  his  arms,  but  before  the  two  men  could 
embrace,  poor  Shon  ap  Shenkin  crumbled  into  dust 
on  the  doorstep. 

II. 

The  harp  is  played  by  Welsh  fairies  to  an  extent 
unknown  in  those  parts  of  the  world  where  the 
harp  is  less  popular  among  the  people.  When  any 
instrument  is  distinctly  heard  in  fairy  cymmoedd 
it  is  usually  the  harp.  Sometimes  it  is  a  fiddle, 
but  then  on  close  examination  it  will  be  discovered 
that  it  is  a  captured  mortal  who  is  playing  it ;  the 
Tylwyth  Teg  prefer  the  harp.  They  play  the 
bugle  on  specially  grand  occasions,  and  there  is 
a  case  or  two  on  record  where  the  drone  of  the 
bagpipes  was  heard ;  but  it  is  not  doubted  that  the 
player  was  some  stray  fairy  from  Scotland  or  else- 
where over  the  border.  On  the  top  of  Craig-y- 
Ddinas  thousands  of  white  fairies  dance  to  the 
music  of  many  harps.  In  the  dingle  called  Cwm 
Pergwm,  in  the  Vale  of  Neath,  the  Tylwyth  Teg 
make  music  behind  the  waterfall,  and  when  they 
go  off  over  the  mountains  the  sounds  of  their  harps 
are  heard  dying  away  as  they  recede.  The  story 
which    presents    the    Cambrian    equivalent   of  the 


I 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  95 

Magic  Flute  substitutes  a  harp  for  the  (to  Welsh- 
men) less  familiar  instrument.     As  told  to  me  this 
story  runs  somewhat  thus  :    A  company  of  fairies 
which  frequented  Cader  Idris  were  in  the  habit  of 
going  about  from  cottage  to  cottage  In  that  part  of 
Wales,   in    pursuit    of   information    concerning   the 
degree  of  benevolence  possessed  by  the  cottagers. 
Those  who  gave  these  fairies  an  ungracious  wel- 
come were  subject  to  bad  luck  during  the  rest  of 
their  lives,  but  those  who  were  good  to  the  little 
folk   became   the   recipients  of  their   favour.     Old 
Morgan  ap  Rhys  sat  one  night  in  his  own  chimney 
corner  making  himself   comfortable  with   his  pipe 
and  his   pint  of  cwrw  da.     The  good  ale  having 
melted  his  soul  a  trifle,  he  was  In  a  more  jolly  mood 
than  was  natural  to  him,  when  there  came  a  little 
rap  at  the  door,  which  reached  his  ear  dully  through 
the  smoke  of  his  pipe  and  the  noise  of  his  own 
voice — for  In  his  merriment  Morgan  was  singing  a 
roystering  song,  though  he  could  not  sing  any  better 
than  a  haw — which  is  Welsh  for  a  donkey.     But 
Morgan  did  not  take  the  trouble  to  get  up  at  sound 
of  the  rap  ;  his  manners  were  not  the  most  refined  ; 
he   thought   it   was   quite   enough    for   a   man    on 
hospitable  purposes  bent  to  bawl  forth  In  ringing 
Welsh,   '  Gwaed  dyn  a'i  gilydd !     Why  don't  you 
come  In  when  you've  got  as  far  as  the  door  ?'     The 
welcome  was  not  very  polite,  but  It  was  sufficient. 
The    door    opened,    and    three    travellers    entered, 
looking    worn   and    weary.      Now  these  were   the 
fairies  from  Cader   Idris,   disguised  In  this  manner 
for   purposes   of   observation,    and    Morgan    never 
suspected    they  were    other    than    they  appeared. 
'  Good  sir,'  said  one  of  the  travellers,   'we  are  worn 
and  weary,  but  all  we  seek  Is  a  bite  of  food  to  put 
In   our  wallet,  and  then  we  will   go  on  our  way.' 


g6  British  Goblins. 

'  Waw,  lads !  is  that  all  you  want  ?     Well,   there, 
look  you,  is  the  loaf  and  the  cheese,  and  the  knife 
lies  by  them,  and  you  may  cut  what  you  like,  and 
fill  your  bellies  as  well  as  your  wallet,  for  never 
shall  it  be  said  that  Morgan  ap  Rhys  denied  bread 
and  cheese  to  a  fellow  creature/     The  travellers 
proceeded  to  help  themselves,  while  Morgan  con- 
tinued to  drink  and  smoke,  and  to  sing  after  his 
fashion,   which  was  a  very  rough   fashion   indeed. 
As    they  were    about    to   go,    the    fairy   travellers 
turned  to  Morgan  and  said,   '  Since  you  have  been 
so  generous  we  will  show  that  we  are  grateful.     It 
is  in  our  power  to  grant  you  any  one  wish  you  may 
have ;    therefore   tell  us  what  that  wish  may  be.' 
*  Ho,   ho!'  said   Morgan,    'is  that  the  case?     Ah, 
I  see  you  are  making  sport  of  me.     Wela,  wela,  the 
wish  of  my  heart  is  to  have  a  harp  that  will  play 
under  my  fingers  no  matter  how  ill  I  strike  it ;  a 
harp    that   will    play   lively    tunes,    look    you ;    no 
melancholy  music  for  me  !'     He  had  hardly  spoken, 
when    to    his    astonishment,    there    on    the    hearth 
before  him  stood  a  splendid  harp,  and  he  was  alone. 
*Waw!'    cried    Morgan,     *  they're    gone    already.' 
Then    looking   behind    him    he  saw   they  had   not 
taken  the  bread  and  cheese  they  had  cut  off,  after 
all.     *'Twas  the  fairies,  perhaps,'  he  muttered,  but 
sat  serenely  quaffing  his  beer,  and  staring  at  the 
harp.     There  was  a  sound  of  footsteps  behind  him, 
and  his  wife  came  in  from  out  doors  with  some 
friends.     Morgan    feeling    very   jolly,    thought    he 
would  raise  a  little  laughter  among  them   by  dis- 
playing his  want  of  skill  upon  the  harp.     So  he 
commenced  to  play — oh,  what  a  mad  and  capering 
tune  it  was !     'Waw!'  said  Morgan,  'but  this  is  a 
harp.     Holo !   what  ails  you  all  ?'     For  as  fast  as 
he    played    his    neighbours    danced,    every    man, 


i 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  97 

woman,  and  child  of  them  all  footing  it  like  mad 
creatures.  Some  of  them  bounded  up  against  the 
roof  of  the  cottage  till  their  heads  cracked  again  ; 
others  spun  round  and  round,  knocking  over  the 
furniture ;  and,  as  Morgan  went  on  thoughtlessly- 
playing,  they  began  to  pray  to  him  to  stop  before 
they  should  be  jolted  to  pieces.  But  Morgan  found 
the  scene  too  amusing  to  want  to  stop  ;  besides,  he 
was  enamoured  of  his  own  suddenly  developed 
skill  as  a  musician  ;  and  he  twanged  the  strings 
and  laughed  till  his  sides  ached  and  the  tears  rolled 
down  his  cheeks,  at  the  antics  of  his  friends.  Tired 
out  at  last  he  stopped,  and  the  dancers  fell  exhausted 
on  the  floor,  the  chairs,  the  tables,  declaring  the 
diawl  himself  was  in  the  harp.  '  I  know  a  tune 
worth  two  of  that,'  quoth  Morgan,  picking  up  the 
harp  again  ;  but  at  sight  of  this  motion  all  the  com- 
pany rushed  from  the  house  and  escaped,  leaving 
Morgan  rolling  merrily  in  his  chair.  Whenever 
Morgan  got  a  little  tipsy  after  that,  he  would  get 
the  harp  and  set  everybody  round  him  to  dancing  ; 
and  the  consequence  was  he  got  a  bad  name,  and 
no  one  would  go  near  him.  But  all  their  precau- 
tions did  not  prevent  the  neighbours  from  being 
caught  now  and  then,  when  Morgan  took  his  revenge 
by  making  them  dance  till  their  legs  were  broken, 
or  some  other  damage  was  done  them.  Even 
lame  people  and  invalids  were  compelled  to  dance 
whenever  they  heard  the  music  of  this  diabolical 
telyn.  In  short,  Morgan  so  abused  his  fairy  gift 
that  one  night  the  good  people  came  and  took  it 
away  from  him,  and  he  never  saw  it  more.  The 
consequence  was  he  became  morose,  and  drank 
himself  to  death — a  warning  to  all  who  accept 
from  the  fairies  favours  they  do  not  deserve. 


98 


British  Goblins, 


III. 

The  music  of  the  Tylwyth  Teg  has  been  variously 
described  by  people  who  claim  to  have  heard  it ; 
but  as  a  rule  with  much  vagueness,  as  of  a  sweet 
intangible  harmony,  recalling  the  experience  of 
Caliban  : 

The  isle  is  full  of  noises  ; 
Sounds,  and  sweet  airs,  that  give  delight,  and  hurt  not. 
Sometimes  a  thousand  twangling  instruments 
Will  hum  about  mine  ears.^ 

One  Morgan  Gwilym,  who  saw  the  fairies  by 
Cylepsta  Waterfall,  and  heard  their  music  dying 
away,  was  only  able  to  recall  the  last  strain,  which 
he  said  sounded  something  like  this  : 


f=f' 


?=^ 


Edmund  Daniel,  of  the  Arail,  *  an  honest  man 
and  a  constant  speaker  of  truth,*  told  the  Prophet 
Jones  that  he  often  saw  the  fairies  after  sunset 
crossing  the  Cefn  Bach  from  the  Valley  of  the 
Church  towards  Hafodafel,  leaping  and  striking  in 
the  air,  and  making  a  serpentine  path  through  the 
air,  in  this  form  : 


The  fairies  were  seen  and  heard  by  many  persons 
in  that  neighbourhood,  and  sometimes  by  several 
persons  together.  They  appeared  more  often  by 
night  than  by  day,  and  in  the  morning  and  evening 
more  often  than  about  noon.  Many  heard  their 
music,  and  said  of  it  that  it  was  low  and  pleasant ; 
but  that  it  had  this  peculiarity  :  no  one  could  ever 


Tempest,'  Act  III.,  Sc.  2. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  99 

learn  the  tune.  In  more  favoured  parts  of  the 
PrincipaHty,  the  words  of  the  song  were  distinctly 
heard,  and  under  the  name  of  the  '  Can  y  Tylwyth 
Teg '  are  preserved  as  follows  : 

Dowch,  dowch,  gyfeillion  man, 
O  blith  marwolion  byd, 

Dowch,  dowch,  a  dowch  yn  Ian. 
Partowch  partowch  eich  pibau  can, 
Gan  ddawnsio  dowch  i  gyd, 

Mae  yn  hyfryd  heno  i  hwn. 

One  is  reluctant  to  turn  into  bald  English  this 
goblin  song,  which  in  its  native  Welsh  is  almost  as 
impressive  as  '  Fi  Fo  Fum.'  Let  it  suffice  that  the 
song  is  an  invitation  to  the  little  ones  among  the 
dead  of  earth  to  come  with  music  and  dancing  to 
the  delights  of  the  night  revel. 

IV. 

In  the  legend  of  lolo  ap  Hugh,  than  which  no 
story  is  more  widely  known  in  Wales,  the  fairy 
origin  of  that  famous  tune  *  Ffarwel  Ned  Pugh '  is 
shown.  It  is  a  legend  which  suggests  the  Enchanted 
Flute  fancy  in  another  form,  the  instrument  here 
being  a  fiddle,  and  the  victim  and  player  one  under 
fairy  control.  In  its  introduction  of  bread  and 
cheese  and  candles  it  smacks  heartily  of  the  soil. 
In  North  Wales  there  is  a  famous  cave  which  is 
said  to  reach  from  its  entrance  on  the  hill-side 
*  under  the  Morda,  the  Ceiriog,  and  a  thousand 
other  streams,  under  many  a  league  of  mountain, 
marsh  and  moor,  under  the  almost  unfathomable  wells 
that,  though  now  choked  up,  once  supplied  Sycharth, 
the  fortress  of  Glyndwrdwy,  all  the  way  to  Chirk 
Castle.'  Tradition  said  that  whoever  went  within 
five  paces  of  its  mouth  would  be  drawn  into  it  and 
lost.  That  the  peasants  dwelling  near  it  had  a 
thorough  respect  for  this  tradition,  was  proved  by 

H 


loo  British  Goblins, 


the  fact  that  all  around  the  dangerous  hole  'the 
grass  grew  as  thick  and  as  rank  as  in  the  wilds  of 
America  or  some  unapproached  ledge  of  the  Alps/ 
Both  men  and  animals  feared  the  spot :  *  A  fox,  with 
a  pack  of  hounds  in  full  cry  at  his  tail/  once  turned 
short  round  on  approaching  it,  'with  his  hair  all 
bristled  and  fretted  like  frostwork  with  terror,'  and 
ran  into  the  middle  of  the  pack,  '  as  if  anything 
earthly — even  an  earthly  death — was  a  relief  to  his 
supernatural  perturbations/  And  the  dogs  in 
pursuit  of  this  fox  all  declined  to  seize  him,  on 
account  of  the  phosphoric  smell  and  gleam  of  his 
coat.  Moreover,  '  Elias  ap  Evan,  who  happened 
one  fair  night  to  stagger  just  upon  the  rim  of  the 
forbidden  space,'  was  so  frightened  at  what  he  saw 
and  heard  that  he  arrived  at  home  perfectly  sober, 
'  the  only  interval  of  sobriety,  morning,  noon,  or 
night,  Elias  had  been  afflicted  with  for  upwards  of 
twenty  years/  Nor  ever  after  that  experience — 
concerning  which  he  was  wont  to  shake  his  head 
solemnly,  as  if  he  might  tell  wondrous  tales  an'  he 
dared — could  Elias  get  tipsy,  drink  he  never  so 
faithfully  to  that  end.  As  he  himself  expressed  it, 
'  His  shadow  walked  steadily  before  him,  that  at  one 
time  wheeled  around  him  like  a  pointer  over  bog 
and  stone.'  One  misty  Hallow  E'en,  lolo  ap  Hugh, 
the  fiddler,  determined  to  solve  the  mysteries  of  the 
Ogof,  or  Cave,  provided  himself  with  '  an  immense 
quantity  of  bread  and  cheese  and  seven  pounds  of 
candles,'  and  ventured  in.  He  never  returned  ;  but 
long,  long  afterwards,  at  the  twilight  of  another 
Hallow  E'en,  an  old  shepherd  was  passing  that — as 
he  called  it — '  Land-Maelstrom  of  Diaboly,'  when  he 
heard  a  faint  burst  of  melody  dancing  up  and  down 
the  rocks  above  the  cave.  As  he  listened,  the  music 
gradually  '  moulded  itself  in  something  like  a  tune, 


The  Realm  of  Faeine.  loi 

though  it  was  a  tune  the  shepherd  had  never  heard 
before/  And  it  sounded  as  if  it  were  being  played 
by  some  jolting  fiend,  so  rugged  was  its  rhythm,  so 
repeated  its  discordant  groans.  Now  there  appeared 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Ogof  a  figure  well  known  to  the 
shepherd  by  remembrance.  It  was  dimly  visible  ; 
but  it  was  lolo  ap  Hugh,  one  could  see  that  at  once. 
He  was  capering  madly  to  the  music  of  his  own 
fiddle,  with  a  lantern  dangling  at  his  breast. 
*  Suddenly  the  moon  shone  full  on  the  cave's  yellow 
mouth,  and  the  shepherd  saw  poor  lolo  for  a  single 
moment — but  it  was  distinctly  and  horribly.  His 
face  was  pale  as  marble,  and  his  eyes  stared  fixedly 
and  deathfully,  whilst  his  head  dangled  loose  and 
unjointed  on  his  shoulders.  His  arms  seemed  to 
keep  his  fiddlestick  in  motion  without  the  least 
sympathy  from  their  master.  The  shepherd  saw  him 
a  moment  on  the  verge  of  the  cave,  and  then,  still 
capering  and  fiddling,  vanish  like  a  shadow  from  his 
sight ;  but  the  old  man  was  heard  to  say  he  seemed 
as  if  he  slipped  into  the  cave  in  a  manner  quite 
different  from  the  step  of  a  living  and  a  willing  man  ; 
'he  was  dragged  inwards  like  the  smoke  up  the 
chimney,  or  the  mist  at  sunrise.'  Years  elapsed  ; 
'all  hopes  and  sorrows  connected  with  poor  lolo 
had  not  only  passed  away,  but  were  nearly  for- 
gotten ;  the  old  shepherd  had  long  lived  in  a  parish 
at  a  considerable  distance  amongst  the  hills.  One 
cold  December  Sunday  evening  he  and  his  fellow- 
parishioners  were  shivering  in  their  seats  as  the 
clerk  was  beginning  to  light  the  church,  when  a 
strange  burst  of  music,  starting  suddenly  from 
beneath  the  aisle,  threw  the  whole  congregation 
into  confusion,  and  then  it  passed  faintly  along  to 
the  farther  end  of  the  church,  and  died  gradually 
away  till  at  last  it  was  impossible  to  distinguish  it 

H    2 


I02 


British  Goblins. 


I 


from  the  wind  that  was  careering  and  wailing 
through  almost  every  pillar  of  the  old  church/  The 
shepherd  immediately  recognised  this  to  be  the  tune 
lolo  had  played  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ogof.  The 
parson  of  the  parish — a  connoisseur  in  music — took 
it  down  from  the  old  man's  whistling ;  and  to  this 
day,  if  you  go  to  the  cave  on  Hallow  eve  and  put 
your  ear  to  the  aperture,  you  may  hear  the  tune 
'  Ffarwel  Ned  Pugh '  as  distinctly  as  you  may  hear 
the  waves  roar  in  a  sea-shell.  *  And  it  is  said  that 
in  certain  nights  in  leap-year  a  star  stands  opposite 
the  farther  end  of  the  cave,  and  enables  you  to 
view  all  through  it  and  to  see  lolo  and  its  other 


mmates 


» 1 


Camb.  Quarterly,'  i.,  45. 


FFARWEL   NED   PUGH. 


^^^ 


m 


s 


p^ 


sg 


m 


'^^ 

m^ 


-m  f  ^ 


^stp 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  103 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Fairy  Rings — The  Prophet  Jones  and  his  Works — The  Mysterious 
Language  of  the  Tylwyth  Teg — The  Horse  in  Welsh  Folk-Lore — 
Equestrian  Fairies — Fairy  Cattle,  Sheep,  Swine,  etc. — The  Flying 
Fairies  of  Bedwellty — The  Fairy  Sheepfold  at  Cae'r  Cefn. 

I. 

The  circles  In  the  grass  of  green  fields,  which 
are  commonly  called  fairy  rings,  are  numerous  in 
Wales,  and  it  is  deemed  just  as  well  to  keep  out 
of  them,  even  in  our  day.  The  peasantry  no 
longer  believe  that  the  fairies  can  be  seen  dancing 
there,  nor  that  the  cap  of  invisibility  will  fall  on 
the  head  of  one  who  enters  the  circle ;  but  they 
do  believe  that  the  fairies,  in  a  time  not  long 
gone,  made  these  circles  with  the  tread  of  their 
tripping  feet,  and  that  some  misfortune  will  probably 
befall  any  person  intruding  upon  this  forbidden 
ground.  An  old  man  at  Peterstone-super-Ely  told 
me  he  well  remembered  in  his  childhood  being 
warned  by  his  mother  to  keep  away  from  the  fairy 
rings.  The  counsel  thus  given  him  made  so  deep 
an  impression  on  his  mind,  that  he  had  never  in  his 
life  entered  one.  He  remarked  further,  in  answer 
to  a  question,  that  he  had  never  walked  under  a 
ladder,  because  it  was  unlucky  to  walk  under  a 
ladder.  This  class  of  superstitions  is  a  very  large 
one,  and  is  encountered  the  world  over ;  and  the 
fairy  rings  seem  to  fall  into  this  class,  so  far  as 
present-day  belief  in  Wales  is  concerned. 


I04  British  Gobli?is. 


II. 

Allusion  has  been  made  In  the  preceding  pages  to 
the  Prophet  Jones,  and  as  some  account  of  this  per- 
sonage Is  Imperatively  called  for  In  a  work  treating 
of  Welsh  folk-lore,  I  will  give  it  here,  before  citing 
his  remarks  respecting  fairy  circles.  Edmund  Jones, 
*  of  the  Tranch,*  was  a  dissenting  minister,  noted  In 
Monmouthshire  in  the  first  years  of  the  present  cen- 
tury for  his  fervent  piety  and  his  large  credulity  with 
regard  to  fairies  and  all  other  goblins.  He  was 
for  many  years  pastor  of  the  congregation  of  Pro- 
testant Dissenters  at  the  Ebenezer  Chapel,  near 
Pontypool,  and  lived  at  a  place  called  *  The  Tranch,' 
near  there.  He  wrote  and  published  two  books,  one 
an  *  Account  of  the  Parish  of  Aberys truth/  printed 
at  Trevecca ;  the  other  a  *  Relation  of  Apparitions 
of  Spirits  In  the  County  of  Monmouth  and  the 
Principality  of  Wales,'  printed  at  Newport ;  and  they 
have  been  referred  to  by  most  writers  on  folk-lore 
who  have  attempted  any  account  of  Welsh  super- 
stitions during  the  past  half-century ;  but  the  books 
are  extremely  rare,  and  writers  who  have  quoted 
from  them  have  generally  been  content  to  do  so  at 
second-hand.  Kelghtley/  quoting  from  the  *  Appari- 
tions,' misprints  the  author  s  name  '  Edward  Jones 
of  the  TIarch,'  and  accredits  the  publication  to  '  the 
latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,'  whereas  it  was 
published  in  1813.  Keightley's  quotations  are  taken 
from  Croker,  who  himself  had  never  seen  the  book, 
but  heard  of  It  through  a  Welsh  friend.  It  is  not  in 
the  library  of  the  British  Museum,  and  I  know  of 
but  a  few  copies  In  Wales  ;  the  one  I  saw  is  at  Swan- 
sea. The  author  of  these  curious  volumes  was  called 
the  Prophet  Jones,  because  of  his  gift  of  prophecy — 

^  '  Fairy  Mythology,'  412. 


I 


llie  Realm  of  Faerie.  105 

so  a  Welshman  in  Monmouthshire  told  me.  In  my 
informant's  words,  *  He  was  noted  in  his  district  for 
foretelling  things.  He  would,  for  instance,  be  asked 
to  preach  at  some  anniversary,  or  quarterly  meeting, 
and  he  would  answer,  *'  I  cannot,  on  that  day ;  the 
rain  will  descend  in  torrents,  and  there  will  be  no 
congregation."  He  would  give  the  last  mite  he 
possessed  to  the  needy,  and  tell  his  wife,  "God  will 
send  a  messenger  with  food  and  raiment  at  nine 
o'clock  to-morrow."  And  so  it  would  be.'  He  was 
a  thorough-going  believer  in  Welsh  fairies,  and  full 
of  indignant  scorn  toward  all  who  dared  question 
their  reality.  To  him  these  phantoms  were  part  and 
parcel  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  those  who  dis- 
believed in  them  were  denounced  as  Sadducees  and 
infidels. 

III. 

With  regard  to  the  fairy  rings,  Jones  held  that  the 
Bible  alludes  to  them.  Matt.  xii.  43  :  '  The  fairies 
dance  in  circles  in  dry  places  ;  and  the  Scripture  saith 
that  the  walk  of  evil  spirits  is  in  dry  places.'  They 
favour  the  oak-tree,  and  the  female  oak  especially, 
partly  because  of  its  more  wide-spreading  branches 
and  deeper  shade,  partly  because  of  the  'superstitious 
use  made  of  it  beyond  other  trees '  in  the  days  of  the 
Druids.  Formerly,  it  was  dangerous  to  cut  down  a 
female  oak  in  a  fair  dry  place.  '  Some  were  said  to 
lose  their  lives  by  it,  by  a  strange  aching  pain  which 
admitted  of  no  remedy,  as  one  of  my  ancestors  did ; 
but  now  that  men  have  more  knowledge  and  faith, 
this  effect  follows  not.'  William  Jenkins  was  for  a 
long  time  the  schoolmaster  at  Trefethin  church,  in 
Monmouthshire,  and  coming  home  late  in  the  even- 
ing, as  he  usually  did,  he  often  saw  the  fairies  under 
an  oak  within  two  or  three  fields  from  the  church. 
He  saw  them  more  often  on  Friday  evenings  than 


io6  British  Goblins. 

any  other.  At  one  time  he  went  to  examine  the 
ground  about  this  oak,  and  there  he  found  the 
reddish  circle  wherein  the  fairies  danced,  '  such  as 
have  often  been  seen  under  the  female  oak,  called 
Brenhin-bren/  They  appeared  more  often  to  an 
uneven  number  of  persons,  as  one,  three,  five,  &c. ; 
and  oftener  to  men  than  to  women.  Thomas 
William  Edmund,  of  Hafodafel,  'an  honest  pious 
man,  who  often  saw  them,'  declared  that  they 
appeared  with  one  bigger  than  the  rest  going  before 
them  in  the  company.  They  were  also  heard  talking 
together  in  a  noisy,  jabbering  way ;  but  no  one 
could  distinguish  the  words.  They  seemed,  how- 
ever, to  be  a  very  disputatious  race  ;  insomuch, 
indeed,  that  there  was  a  proverb  in  some  parts  of 
Wales  to  this  effect :  '  Ni  chytunant  hwy  mwy  na 
Bendith  eu  Mammau,'  (They  will  no  more  agree 
than  the  fairies). 

IV. 

This  observation  respecting  the  mysterious  lan- 
guage used  by  fairies  recalls  again  the  medieval 
story  of  Elidurus.  The  example  of  fairy  words 
there  given  by  Giraldus  is  thought  by  the  learned 
rector  of  Llanarmon  ^  to  be  'a  mixture  of  Irish  and 
Welsh.  The  letter  U,  with  which  each  of  the 
words  begins,  is,  probably,  no  more  than  the  repre- 
sentative of  an  indistinct  sound  like  the  E  mute  of 
the  French,  and  which  those  whose  language  and 
manners  are  vulgar  often  prefix  to  words  indifferently. 
If,  then,  they  be  read  dor  dorum,  and  halgein 
dorum,  dor  and  halgein  are  nearly  dwr  (or,  as  it  is 
pronounced,  door)  and  halen,  the  Welsh  words  for 
water  and  salt  respectively.  Dorum  therefore  is 
equivalent  to  *'give  me,"  and  the  Irish  expression  for 
"give  me"  is  thorum  ;  the  Welsh  dyro  i  mi.     The 

^  Rev.  Peter  Roberts,  'Cambrian  Popular  Antiquities,'  195.     (1815.) 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  107 

order  of  the  words,  however,  is  reversed.  The  order 
should  be  thorum  dor,  and  thorum  halen  in  Irish, 
and  in  Welsh  dyro  i  mi  ddwr,  and  dyro  i  mi  halen, 
but  was,  perhaps,  reversed  intentionally  by  the  nar- 
rator, to  make  his  tale  the  more  marvellous.'^ 


The  horse  plays  a  very  active  part  in  Welsh  fairy 
tales.  Not  only  does  his  skeleton  serve  for  Mary 
Lwyds^  and  the  like,  but  his  spirit  flits.  The 
Welsh  fairies  seem  very  fond  of  going  horseback. 
An  old  woman  in  the  Vale  of  Neath  told  Mrs. 
Williams,  who  told  Thomas  Keightley,  that  she  had 
seen  fairies  to  the  number  of  hundreds,  mounted 
on  little  white  horses,  not  bigger  than  dogs,  and 
riding  four  abreast.  This  was  about  dusk,  and  the 
fairy  equestrians  passed  quite  close  to  her,  in  fact 
less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  Another  old 
woman  asserted  that  her  father  had  often  seen  the 
fairies  riding  in  the  air  on  little  white  horses  ;  but 
he  never  saw  them  come  to  the  ground.  He  heard 
their  music  sounding  in  the  air  as  they  galloped  by. 
There  is  a  tradition  among  the  Glamorgan  peasantry 
of  a  fairy  battle  fought  on  the  mountain  between 
Merthyr  and  Aberdare,  in  which  the  pigmy  com- 
batants were  on  horseback.  There  appeared  to  be 
two  armies,  one  of  which  was  mounted  on  milk- 
white  steeds,  and  the  other  on  horses  of  jet-black. 
They  rode  at  each  other  with  the  utmost  fury,  and 
their  swords  could  be  seen  flashing  in  the  air  like 
so  many  penknife  blades.  The  army  on  the  white 
horses  won  the  day,  and  drove  the  black-mounted 
force  from  the  field.  The  whole  scene  then  disap- 
peared in  a  light  mist. 

^  Supra,  p.  67.  ^  Sec  Index. 


io8  British  Goblins. 


VI. 

In  the  agricultural  districts  of  Wales,  the  fairies 
are  accredited  with  a  very  complete  variety  of 
useful  animals ;  and  Welsh  folk-lore,  both  modern 
and  medieval,  abounds  with  tales  regarding  cattle, 
sheep,  horses,  poultry,  goats,  and  other  features  of 
rural  life.  Such  are  the  marvellous  mare  of  Teirnyon, 
which  foaled  every  first  of  May,  but  whose  colt 
was  always  spirited  away,  no  man  knew  whither  ; 
the  Ychain  Banog,  or  mighty  oxen,  which  drew  the 
water-monster  out  of  the  enchanted  lake,  and  by 
their  lowing  split  the  rocks  in  twain  ;  the  lambs  of 
St.  Melangell,  which  at  first  were  hares,  and  ran 
frightened  under  the  fair  saint's  robes ;  the  fairy 
cattle  which  belong  to  the  Gwralg  Annwn  ;  the 
fairy  sheep  of  Cefn  Rhychdir,  which  rose  up  out  of 
the  earth  and  vanished  Into  the  sky  ;  even  fairy 
swine,  which  the  hay-makers  of  Bedwellty  beheld 
flying  through  the  air.  To  some  of  these  traditions 
reference  has  already  been  made  ;  others  will  be 
mentioned  again.  Welsh  mountain  sheep  will  run 
like  stags,  and  bound  from  crag  to  crag  like  wild 
goats  ;  and  as  for  Welsh  swine,  they  are  more 
famed  in  Cambrian  romantic  story  than  almost  any 
other  animal  that  could  be  named.  Therefore  the 
tale  told  by  Rev.  Roger  Rogers,  of  the  parish  of 
Bedwellty,  sounds  much  less  absurd  in  Wales  than 
it  might  elsewhere.  It  relates  to  a  very  remarkable 
and  odd  sight,  seen  by  Lewis  Thomas  Jenkin's  two 
daughters,  described  as  virtuous  and  good  young 
women,  their  father  a  substantial  freeholder  ;  and 
seen  not  only  by  them  but  by  the  man-servant  and 
the  maid-servant,  and  by  two  of  the  neighbours, 
viz.,  Elizabeth  David,  and  Edmund  Roger.  All 
these  six  people  were  on  a  certain  day  making  hay 


M 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  109 

in  a  field  called  Y  Weirglodd  Fawr  Dafolog,  when 
they  plainly  beheld  a  company  of  fairies  rise  up  out 
of  the  earth  in  the  shape  of  a  flock  of  sheep  ;  the 
same  being  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant,  over  a 
hill,  called  Cefn  Rhychdir ;  and  soon  the  fairy  flock 
went  out  of  sight,  as  if  they  vanished  in  the  air. 
Later  in  the  day  they  all  saw  this  company  of  fairies 
again,  but  while  to  two  of  the  haymakers  the  fairies 
appeared  as  sheep,  to  others  they  appeared  as 
greyhounds,  and  to  others  as  swine,  and  to  others  as 
naked  infants.  Whereupon  the  Rev.  Roger  remarks : 
'  The  sons  of  infidelity  are  very  unreasonable  not  to 
believe  the  testimonies  of  so  many  witnesses.'  ^ 

VII. 

The  Welsh  sheep,  it  is  affirmed,  are  the  only 
beasts  which  will  eat  the  grass  that  grows  in  the 
fairy  rings  ;  all  other  creatures  avoid  it,  but  the 
sheep  eat  it  greedily — hence  the  superiority  of 
Welsh  mutton  over  any  mutton  in  the  wide  world. 
The  Prophet  Jones  tells  of  the  sheepfold  of  the 
fairies,  which  he  himself  saw — a  circumstance  to  be 
accorded  due  weight,  the  judicious  reader  will  at 
once  perceive,  because  as  a  habit  Mr.  Jones  was 
not  specially  given  to  seeing  goblins  on  his  own 
account.  He  believes  in  them  with  all  his  heart, 
but  it  is  usually  a  friend  or  acquaintance  who  has 
seen  them.  In  this  instance,  therefore,  the  excep- 
tion is  to  be  noted  sharply.  He  thus  tells  the  tale  : 
*  If  any  think  I  am  too  credulous  in  these  relations, 
and  speak  of  things  of  which  I  myself  have  had  no 
experience,  I  must  let  them  know  they  are  mistaken. 
For  when  a  very  young  boy,  going  with  my  aunt, 
early  in  the  morning,  but  after  sun-rising,  from 
Hafodafel    towards    my   father's   house   at    Pen-y- 

^  Jones,  *  Apparitions,'  24. 


no  British  Goblins, 


Llwyn,  at  the  end  of  the  upper  field  of  Cae'r  Cefn, 
...  I  saw  the  Hkeness  of  a  sheepfold,  with  the 
door  towards  the  south,  .  .  .  and  within  the  fold 
a  company  of  many  people.  Some  sitting  down, 
and  some  going  in,  and  coming  out,  bowing  their 
heads  as  they  passed  under  the  branch  over  the 
door.  ...  I  well  remember  the  resemblance 
among  them  of  a  fair  woman  with  a  high-crown  hat 
and  a  red  jacket,  who  made  a  better  appearance 
than  the  rest,  and  whom  I  think  they  seemed  to 
honour.  I  still  have  a  pretty  clear  idea  of  her  white 
face  and  well-formed  countenance.  The  men  wore 
white  cravats.  ...  I  wondered  at  my  aunt,  going 
before  me,  that  she  did  not  look  towards  them,  and 
we  going  so  near  them.  As  for  me,  I  was  loth  to 
speak  until  I  passed  them  some  way,  and  then  told 
my  aunt  what  I  had  seen,  at  which  she  wondered, 
and  said  I  dreamed.  .  .  .  There  was  no  fold  in 
that  place.  There  is  indeed  the  ruins  of  some 
small  edifice  in  that  place,  most  likely  a  fold,  but  so 
old  that  the  stones  are  swallowed  up,  and  almost 
wholly  crusted  over  with  earth  and  grass.' 

This  tale  has  long  been  deemed  a  poser  by  the 
believers  in  Cambrian  phantoms  ;  but  there  is  some- 
thing to  be  said  on  the  side  of  doubt.  Conceding 
that  the  Reverend  Edmund  Jones,  the  dissenting 
minister,  was  an  honest  gentleman  who  meant  to 
tell  truth,  it  is  still  possible  that  Master  Neddy 
Jones,  the  lad,  could  draw  a  long  bow  like  another 
boy ;  and  that  having  seen,  possibly,  some  gypsy 
group  (or  possibly  nothing  whatever)  he  embellished 
his  tale  to  excite  wonderment,  as  boys  do.  Telling 
a  fictitious  tale  so  often  that  one  at  last  comes  to 
believe  it  oneself,  is  a  well-known  mental  pheno- 
menon. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  1 1 1 


VIII. 

The  only  other  instance  given  by  the  Prophet 
Jones  as  from  the  depths  of  his  own  personal 
experience,  is  more  vague  in  its  particulars  than  the 
preceding,  and  happened  when  he  had  presumably 
grown  to  years  of  discretion.  He  was  led  astray,  it 
appears,  by  the  Old  Woman  of  the  Mountain,  on 
Llanhiddel  Bryn,  near  Pontypool — an  eminence  with 
which  he  was  perfectly  well  acquainted,  and  which 
*  is  no  more  than  a  mile  and  a  half  long  and  about 
half  a  mile  broad.'  But  as  a  result  of  his  going 
astray,  he  came  to  a  house  where  he  had  never  been 
before  ;  and  being  deeply  moved  by  his  uncanny 
experience,  '  offered  to  go  to  prayer,  which  they 
admitted.  ...  I  was  then  about  twenty-three 
years  of  age  and  had  begun  to  preach  the  everlast- 
ing gospel.  They  seemed  to  admire  that  a  person 
so  young  should  be  so  warmly  disposed  ;  few  young 
men  of  my  age  being  religious  in  this  country  then. 
Much  good  came  into  this  house  and  still  continues 
in  it.  .  .  .  So  the  old  hag  got  nothing  by  leading 
me  astray  that  time.' 


112  British  Goblins. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


II 


Piety  as  a  Protection  from   the   Seductions   of  the  Tyhvyth  Teg — 

Various  Exorcisms — Cock-crowing — The  Name  of  God — Fencing  • 

off  the  Fairies — Old  Betty  Griffith  and   her    Eithin    Barricade —  | 

Means  of  Getting  Rid  of  the  Tyhvyth  Teg — The  Bwbach  of  the  ; 

Hendrefawr  Farm — The  Pwca'r  Trwyn's  Flitting  in  a  Jug  of  Barm.  ' 

I.  ; 

The  extreme  piety  of  his  daily  walk  and  conver-  • 
sation  may  have  been  held  as  an  explanation  why  the 

Prophet  Jones  saw  so  few  goblins  himself,  and  con-  '! 
sequently  why  most  of  his  stories  of  the  fairies  are 

related  as  coming  from  other  people.    The  value  of  a  ^, 

general  habit  of  piety,  as  a  means  of  being  rid  of  -^ 

fairies,    has   already   been    mentioned.       The   more  ] 

worldly  exorcisms,  such  as  the  production  of  a  black-  j 

handled  knife,  or  the  turning  one's  coat  wrongside  out,  \ 

are  passed  over  by  the  Prophet  as  trivial ;  but  by  the  A 

student  of  comparative  folk-lore,  they  are  not  deemed  \ 

unimportant.     The  last-mentioned  exorcism,  by  the  \ 

way,  is  current  among   the  Southern  negroes  of  the  j 

United  States.     The  more  spiritual    exorcisms  are  J 

not  less  interesting  than  the  others,  however.      First  \ 

among  these  is  ranked  the  pronunciation  of  God's  \ 

name  ;  but  the  crowing  of  a  cock  is  respectfully  men-  J 
tioned,  in  connection  with  the  story  of  our  Saviour. 

Jones  gives  many  accounts  which  terminate  in  the  i 

manner  of  the  following  :  Rees  John  Rosser,  born  at  '• 

Hendy,  in  the  parish  of  Llanhiddel,  '  a  very  religious  \ 

young  man,'  went  one  morning  very  early  to  feed  j 
the  oxen  in  a  barn  called  Ysgubor  y  Llan,  and  having 


■ 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  113 

fed  them  lay  himself  upon  the  hay  to  rest.  While 
he  lay  there  he  heard  the  sound  of  music  approaching, 
and  presently  a  large  company  of  fairies  came  into 
the  barn.  They  wore  striped  clothes,  some  in  gayer 
colours  than  the  others,  but  all  very  gay  ;  and  they 
all  danced  to  the  music.  He  lay  there  as  quiet  as 
he  could,  thinking  they  would  not  see  him,  but  he 
was  espied  by  one  of  them,  a  woman,  who  brought 
a  striped  cushion  with  four  tassels,  one  at  each 
corner  of  it,  and  put  it  under  his  head.  After  some 
time  the  cock  crew  at  the  house  of  Blaen  y  Cwm, 
hard  by,  upon  which  they  appeared  as  if  they  were 
surprised  and  displeased ;  the  cushion  was  hastily 
whisked  from  under  his  head,  and  the  fairies  vanished. 
*  The  spirits  of  darkness  do  not  like  the  crowing  of 
the  cock,  because  it  gives  notice  of  the  approach  of 
day,  for  they  love  darkness  rather  than  light.  .  .  . 
And  it  hath  been  several  times  observed  that  these 
fairies  cannot  endure  to  hear  the  name  of  God.' 
A  modern  Welsh  preacher  (but  one  whose  opinions 
contrast  most  decidedly  with  those  of  Jones) 
observes  :  '  The  cock  is  wonderfully  well  versed  in 
the  circumstances  of  the  children  of  Adam  ;  his 
shrill  voice  at  dawn  of  day  is  sufficient  intimation  to 
every  spirit,  coblyn,  wraith,  elf,  bwci,  and  apparition 
to  flee  into  their  illusive  country  for  their  lives, 
before  the  light  of  day  will  show  them  to  be  an 
empty  nothingness,  and  bring  them  to  shame  and 
reproach.'  ^  Shakspeare  introduces  this  superstition 
in  Hamlet : 

Ber.  It  was  about  to  speak,  when  the  cock  crew. 
Hor.  And  then  it  started  like  a  guilty  thing 
Upon  a  fearful  summons.'^ 

But  the  opinion  that  spirits  fly  away  at  cock-crow 

^  Rev.  Robert  ElHs,  in  '  Manion  Hynafiaethol.'    (Trehcrbert,  1873.) 
^  '  Hamlet,'  Act  I.,  Sc.  i. 


114  British  Goblins. 


is  of  extreme  antiquity.  It  is  mentioned  by  the 
Christian  poet  Prudentius  (fourth  century)  as  a 
tradition  of  common  beUef.'  As  for  the  effect  of 
the  name  of  God  as  an  exorcism,  we  still  encounter 
this  superstition,  a  living  thing  in  our  own  day, 
and  in  every  land  where  modern  '  spiritualism  '  finds 
believers.  The  mischief  produced  at  '  spiritual 
seances  '  by  *  bad  spirits '  is  well-known  to  those  who 
have  paid  any  attention  to  this  subject.  The  late 
Mr.  FitzHugh  Ludlow  once  related  to  me,  with 
dramatic  fervour,  the  result  of  his  attempts  to 
exorcise  a  bad  spirit  which  was  in  possession  of  a 
female  '  medium,'  by  trying  to  make  her  pronounce 
the  name  of  Christ.  She  stumbled  and  stammered 
over  this  test  in  a  most  embarrassing  way,  and  finally 
emerged  from  her  trance  with  the  holy  name  un- 
spoken ;  the  bad  spirit  had  fled.  This  was  in  New 
York,  in  1867.  Like  many  others  who  assert  their 
unbelief  in  spiritualism,  Mr.  Ludlow  was  intensely 
impressed  by  this  phenomenon. 

Students  of  comparative  folk-lore  class  all  such 
manifestations  under  a  common  head,  whether  related 
of  fairies  or  spirit  mediums.  They  trace  their  origin 
to  the  same  source  whence  come  the  notions  of  pro- 
pitiating the  fairies  by  euphemistic  names.  The  use 
of  such  names  as  Jehovah,  the  Almighty,  the  Supreme 
Being,  etc.,  for  the  terrible  and  avenging  God  of  the 
Jewish  theology,  being  originally  an  endeavour  to 
avoid  pronouncing  the  name  of  God,  it  is  easy  to  see 
the  connection  with  the  exorcising  power  of  that  name 
upon  all  evil  spirits,  such  as  fairies  are  usually  held 
to  be.  Here  also,  it  is  thought,  is  presented  the 
ultimate  source  of  that  horror  of  profane  language 
which  prevails  among  the  Puritanic  peoples  of 
England  and  America.     The  name  of  the  devil  is 

*  Brand,  *  Popular  Antiquities,'  ii.,  31. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  115 

similarly  provided  with  euphemisms,  some  of  which 
— such  as  the  Old  Boy — are  not  of  a  sort  to  offend 
that  personage's  ears  ;  and  until  recently  the  word 
devil  was  deemed  almost  as  offensive  as  the  word 
God,  when  profanely  used. 

II. 

A  popular  protection  from  the  encroachments  of 
fairies  is  the  eithin,  or  prickly  furze,  common  in 
Wales.  It  is  believed  that  the  fairies  cannot  pene- 
trate a  fence  or  hedge  composed  of  this  thorny 
shrub.  An  account  illustrating  this,  and  otherwise 
curious  in  its  details,  was  given  in  1871  by  a 
prominent  resident  of  Anglesea :  ^  '  One  day,  some 
thirty  years  ago,  Mrs.  Stanley  went  to  one  of  the 
old  houses  to  see  an  old  woman  she  often  visited. 
It  was  a  wretched  hovel ;  so  unusually  dark  when 
she  opened  the  door,  that  she  called  to  old  Betty 
Griffith,  but  getting  no  answer  she  entered  the 
room.  A  little  tiny  window  of  one  pane  of  glass 
at  the  further  side  of  the  room  gave  a  feeble  light. 
A  few  cinders  alight  in  the  miserable  grate  also 
gave  a  glimmer  of  light,  which  enabled  her  to  see 
where  the  bed  used  to  be,  in  a  recess.  To  her 
surprise  she  saw  it  entirely  shut  out  by  a  barricade 
of  thick  gorse,  so  closely  packed  and  piled  up  that 
no  bed  was  to  be  seen.  Again  she  called  Betty 
Griffith  ;  no  response  came.  She  looked  round  the 
wretched  room  ;  the  only  symptom  of  life  was  a 
plant  of  the  Wandering  Jew  {Saxifraga  tricolor), 
so  called  by  the  poor  people,  and  dearly  loved  to 
grace  their  windows.  It  was  planted  in  a  broken 
jar  or  teapot  on  the  window,  trailing  its  long  tendrils 
around,  with  here  and  there  a  new  formed  plant 
seeming  to  derive  sustenance  from  the   air  alone. 

^  Hon.  W.  O.  Stanley,  in  '  Notes  and  Queries.' 

I 


1 1 6  British  Goblins. 


As  she  stood,  struck  with  the  miserable  poverty  of 
the  human  abode,  a  faint  sigh  came  from  behind 
the  gorse.     She  went  close  and  said,  "  Betty,  where 
are   you  ? "     Betty   instantly  recognised   her  voice, 
and  ventured  to  turn  herself  round  from  the  wall. 
Mrs.    Stanley   then    made  a   small    opening  in  the 
gorse   barricade,  which    sadly   pricked  her  fingers ; 
she  saw  Betty  in  her  bed  and  asked  her,  "  Are  you 
not  well  ?  are  you  cold,  that  you  are  so  closed  up  ?  " 
"  Cold  !  no.     It  is  not  cold,  Mrs.  Stanley  ;  it  is  the 
Tylwyth   Teg ;    they   never   will   leave   me   alone, 
there   they   sit   making  faces  at  me,  and  trying  to 
come  to  me."     ''  Indeed  !  oh  how  I  should  like  to 
see  them,  Betty."     "•  Like  to  see  them,  is  it  ?     Oh, 
don't  say  so."     "  Oh  but  Betty,   they  must  be  so 
pretty   and   good."     **  Good  ?  they  are   not  good." 
By  this  time  the  old  woman  got  excited,  and  Mrs. 
Stanley  knew  she  should  hear  more  from  her  about 
the  fairies,  so  she  said,  "Well,  I  will  go  out ;  they 
never  will  come  if  I  am  here."     Old  Betty  replied 
sharply,  '*  No,  do  not  go.     You  must  not  leave  me. 
I  will  tell  you  all  about  them.     Ah  !  they  come  and 
plague  me  sadly.     If  I  am  up  they  will  sit  upon  the 
table  ;    they  turn  my  milk  sour  and   spill  my  tea ; 
then  they  will  not  leave  me  at  peace  in  my  bed,  but 
come  all  round  me  and  mock  at  me."     "  But  Betty, 
tell  me  what  is  all  this  gorse  for  ?     It   must  have 
been  great  trouble  for  you  to  make  it  all  so  close." 
"Is    it   not  to  keep  them  off?     They  cannot   get 
through  this,  it  pricks  them  so  bad,  and  then  I  get 
some  rest."     So  she  replaced  the  gorse  and  left  old 
Betty  Griffith  happy  in  her  device  for  getting  rid  of 
the  Tvlwyth  Teg.' 

III. 

A  common  means  of  getting  rid  of  the  fairies  is 
to  change  one's  place  of  residence ;    the  fair   folk 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  117 

will  not  abide  in  a  house  which  passes  into  new 
hands.  A  story  is  told  of  a  Merionethshire  farmer 
who,  being  tormented  beyond  endurance  by  a 
Bwbach  of  a  mischievous  turn,  reluctantly  resolved 
to  flit.  But  first  consulting  a  wise  woman  at 
Dolgelly,  he  was  advised  to  make  a  pretended 
flitting,  which  would  have  the  same  effect ;  he  need 
only  give  out  that  he  was  going  to  move  over  the 
border  into  England,  and  then  get  together  his  cattle 
and  his  household  goods,  and  set  out  for  a  day's 
drive  around  the  Arenig.  The  fairy  would  surely 
quit  the  house  when  the  farmer  should  quit  it,  and 
especially  would  it  quit  the  premises  of  a  born  Cymro 
who  avowed  his  purpose  of  settling  in  the  foreign 
land  of  the  Sais.  So  then  he  could  come  back  to 
his  house  by  another  route,  and  he  would  find  the 
obnoxious  Bwbach  gone.  The  farmer  did  as  he 
was  told,  and  set  out  upon  his  journey,  driving  his 
cattle  and  sheep  before  him,  and  leading  the  cart 
upon  which  his  furniture  was  piled,  while  his  wife 
and  children  trudged  behind.  When  he  reached 
Rhyd-y-Fen,  a  ford  so  called  from  this  legend, 
they  met  a  neighbour,  who  exclaimed,  '  Holo,  Dewi, 
are  you  leaving  us  for  good  ? '  Before  the  farmer 
could  answer  there  was  a  shrill  cry  from  inside  the 
churn  on  the  cart,  '  Yes,  yes,  we  are  flitting  from 
Hendrefawr  to  Eingl-dud,  where  we've  got  a  new 
home/  It  was  the  Bwbach  that  spoke.  He  was 
flitting  with  the  household  gods,  and  the  farmers 
little  plan  to  be  rid  of  him  was  a  complete  failure. 
The  good  man  sighed  as  he  turned  his  horses  about 
and  went  back  to  Hendrefawr  by  the  same  road  he 
had  come. 

IV. 

The    famous    Pwca    of    the    Trwyn    Farm,    in 
Mynyddyslwyn    parish,    came   there   from  his    first 

I  2 


ii8 


British  Goblins. 


abode,  at  Pantygasseg,  in  a  jug  of  barm.  One  of  the 
farm-servants  brought  the  jug  to  Pantygasseg,  and  as 
she  was  being  served  with  the  barm  in  the  jug,  the 
Pwca  was  heard  to  say,  '  The  Pwca  is  going 
away  now  in  this  jug  of  barm,  and  he'll  never  come 
back  ;'  and  he  was  never  heard  at  Pantygasseg  again. 
Another  story  tells  that  a  servant  let  fall  a  ball  of 
yarn,  over  the  ledge  of  the  hill  whose  base  is  washed 
by  the  two  fishponds  between  Hafod-yr-Ynys  and 
Pontypool,  and  the  Pwca  said,  *  I  am  going  in  this 
ball,  and  I'll  go  to  the  Trwyn,  and  never  come 
back,' — and  directly  the  ball  was  seen  to  roll  down 
the  hill-side,  and  across  the  valley,  ascending  the 
hill  on  the  other  side,  and  trundling  along  briskly 
across  the  mountain  top  to  its  new  abode. 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  1 1 9 


CHAPTER  X. 

Fairy  Money  and  Fairy  Gifts  in  General — The  Story  of  Gitto  Bach, 
or  Little  Griffith — The  Penahy  of  Blabbing — Legends  of  the 
Shepherds  of  Cwm  Llan — The  Money  Value  of  Kindness — lanto 
Llewellyn  and  the  Tylwyth  Teg — The  Legend  of  Hafod  Lwyddog 
— Lessons  inculcated  by  these  Superstitions. 

I. 

*  This  is  fairy  gold,  boy,  and  'twill  prove  so,'  says 
the  old  shepherd  in  '  Winter's  Tale  ;'  sagely  adding, 
'  Up  with  it,  keep  it  close ;  home,  home,  the  next 
way.  We  are  lucky,  boy,  and  to  be  so  still,  requires 
nothing  but  secrecy.'  ^  Here  we  have  the  traditional 
belief  of  the  Welsh  peasantry  in  a  nut-shell.  Fairy 
money  is  as  good  as  any,  so  long  as  its  source  is 
kept  a  profound  secret ;  if  the  finder  relate  the  par- 
ticulars of  his  good  fortune,  it  will  vanish.  Some- 
times— especially  in  cases  where  the  money  has  been 
spent — the  evil  result  of  tattling  consists  in  there 
being  no  further  favours  of  the  sort.  The  same 
law  governs  fairy  gifts  of  all  kinds.  A  Breconshire 
legend  tells  of  the  generosity  of  the  Tylwyth  Teg  in 
presenting  the  peasantry  with  loaves  of  bread,  which 
turned  to  toadstools  next  morning  ;  it  was  necessary 
to  eat  the  bread  in  darkness  and  silence  to  avoid 
this  transformation.  The  story  of  Gitto  Bach,  a 
familiar  one  in  Wales,  is  a  picturesque  example. 
Gitto  Bach  (little  Griffith),  a  good  little  farmer's  boy 
of  Glamorganshire,  used  often  to  ramble  to  the  top 
of  the   mountain   to  look  after  his  father's  sheep. 

1  *  Winter's  Tale,'  Act  IIL,  Sc.  3. 


120  British  Goblins. 


On  his  return  he  would  show  his  brothers  and  sisters 
pieces  of  remarkably  white  paper,  like  crown  pieces, 
with  letters  stamped  upon  them,  which  he  said  were 
given  to  him  by  the  little  children  with  whom  he 
played  on  the  mountain.  One  day  he  did  not 
return.  For  two  years  nothing  was  heard  of  him. 
Meantime  other  children  occasionally  got  like 
crown-pieces  of  paper  from  the  mountains.  One 
morning  when  Gitto's  mother  opened  the  door  there 
he  sat^ — the  truant ! — dressed  exactly  as  he  was 
when  she  saw  him  last,  two  years  before.  He  had 
a  little  bundle  under  his  arm.  '  Where  in  the  world 
have  you  been  all  this  time  ? '  asked  the  mother. 
*  Why,  it's  only  yesterday  I  went  away ! '  quoth 
Gitto.  '  Look  at  the  pretty  clothes  the  children  gave 
me  on  the  mountain,  for  dancing  with  them  to  the 
music  of  their  harps.'  With  this  he  opened  his 
bundle,  and  showed  a  handsome  dress  ;  and  behold, 
it  was  only  paper,  like  the  fairy  money. 

n. 

But  usually,  throughout  Wales,  it  is  simply  a  dis 
continuance  of  fairy  favour  which  follows  blabbing. 
A  legend  is  connected  with  a  bridge  in  Anglesea,  of 
a  lad  who  often  saw  the  fairies  there,  and  profited 
by  their  generosity.  Every  morning,  while  going  to 
fetch  his  father's  cows  from  pasture,  he  saw  them, 
and  after  they  were  gone  he  always  found  a  groat 
on  a  certain  stone  of  Cymmunod  Bridge.  The  boy's 
having  money  so  often  about  him  excited  his  father's 
suspicion,  and  one  Sabbath  day  he  cross-questioned 
the  lad  as  to  the  manner  in  which  it  was  obtained. 
Oh,  the  meddlesomeness  of  fathers  !  Of  course  the 
poor  boy  confessed  that  it  was  through  the  medium 
of  the  fairies,  and  of  course,  though  he  often  went 
after  this  to  the  field,  he  never  found  any  money  on 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  121 

the  bridge,  nor  saw  the  offended  Tylwyth  Teg  again. 
Through  his  divulging  the  secret  their  favour  was 
lost. 

Jones  tells  a  similar  story  of  a  young  woman 
named  Anne  William  Francis,  in  the  parish  of 
Bassalleg,  who  on  going  by  night  into  a  little  grove  of 
wood  near  the  house,  heard  pleasant  music,  and  saw 
a  company  of  fairies  dancing  on  the  grass.  She  took 
a  pail  of  water  there,  thinking  it  would  gratify  them. 
The  next  time  she  went  there  she  had  a  shilling 
given  her,  *  and  so  had  for  several  nights  after, 
until  she  had  twenty-one  shillings.'  But  her  mother 
happening  to  find  the  money,  questioned  her  as  to 
where  she  got  it,  fearing  she  had  stolen  it.  At  first 
the  girl  would  not  tell,  but  when  her  mother  '  went 
very  severe  on  her,'  and  threatened  to  beat  her,  she 
confessed  she  got  the  money  from  the  fairies.  After 
that  they  never  gave  her  any  more.  The  Prophet 
adds  :  '  I  have  heard  of  other  places  where  people 
have  had  money  from  the  fairies,  sometimes  silver 
sixpences,  but  most  commonly  copper  coin.  As  they 
cannot  make  money,  it  certainly  must  be  money  lost 
or  concealed  by  persons.'  The  Euhemerism  of  this  is 
hardly  like  the  wonder-loving  Jones. 

III. 

In  the  legends  of  the  two  shepherds  of  Cwm  Llan 
and  their  experience  with  the  fairies,  the  first  deals 
with  the  secrecy  feature,  while  the  second  reproduces 
the  often-impressed  lesson  concerning  the  money 
value  of  kindness.  The  first  is  as  follows :  One 
evening  a  shepherd,  who  had  been  searching  for  his 
sheep  on  the  side  of  Nant  y  Bettws,  after  crossing 
Bwlch  Cwm  Llan,  espied  a  number  of  little  people 
singing  and  dancing,  and  some  of  the  prettiest  damsels 
he  ever  set  eyes  on  preparing  a  feast.     He  went  to 


122  British  Goblins. 


them  and  partook  of  the  meal,  and  thought  he  had 
never  tasted  anything  to  equal  those  dishes.  When 
it  became  dusk  they  pitched  their  tents,  and  the 
shepherd  had  never  seen  before  such  beautiful  things 
as  they  had  about  them  there.  They  provided  him 
with  a  soft  feather-bed  and  sheets  of  the  finest  linen, 
and  he  retired,  feeling  like  a  prince.  But  on  the 
morrow,  lo  and  behold !  his  bed  was  but  a  bush  of 
bulrushes,  and  his  pillow  a  tuft  of  moss.  He  however 
found  in  his  shoes  some  pieces  of  silver,  and  after- 
wards, for  a  long  time,  he  continued  to  find  once  a 
week  a  piece  of  silver  placed  between  two  stones 
near  the  spot  where  he  had  lain.  One  day  he 
divulged  his  secret  to  another,  and  the  weekly  coin 
was  never  placed  there  again. 

There  was  another  shepherd  near  Cwm  Llan,  who 
heard  some  strange  noise  in  a  crevice  of  a  rock,  and 
turning  to  see  what  it  was,  found  there  a  singular 
creature  who  wept  bitterly.  He  took  it  out  and  saw 
it  to  be  a  fairy  child,  but  whilst  he  was  looking  at  it 
compassionately,  two  middle-aged  men  came  to  him 
and  thanked  him  courteously  for  his  kindness,  and  on 
leaving  him  presented  him  with  a  staff  as  a  token  of 
remembrance  of  the  occasion.  The  following  year 
every  sheep  he  possessed  bore  two  ewe  lambs.  They 
continued  to  thus  breed  for  years  to  come ;  but  one 
very  dark  and  stormy  night,  having  stayed  very  late 
in  the  village,  in  crossing  the  river  that  comes  down 
from  Cwm  Llan,  there  being  a  great  flood  sweeping 
everything  before  it,  he  dropped  his  staff  into  the 
river  and  saw  it  no  more.  On  the  morrow  he  found 
that  nearly  all  his  sheep  and  lambs,  like  his  staff,  had 
been  swept  away  by  the  flood.  His  wealth  had 
departed  from  him  in  the  same  way  as  it  came — with 
the  staff  which  he  had  received  from  the  guardians 
of  the  fairy  child. 


i 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  1 23 

IV. 

A  Pembrokeshire  Welshman  told  me  this  story  as 
a  tradition  well  known  in  that  part  of  Wales.  lanto 
Llewellyn  was  a  man  who  lived  in  the  parish  of 
Llanfihangel,  not  more  than  fifty  or  eighty  years 
ago,  and  who  had  precious  good  reason  to  believe  in 
the  fairies.  He  used  to  keep  his  fire  of  coal  balls 
burning  all  night  long,  out  of  pure  kindness  of  heart, 
in  case  the  Tylwyth  Teg  should  be  cold.  That 
they  came  into  his  kitchen  every  night  he  was  well 
aware  ;  he  often  heard  them.  One  night  when  they 
were  there  as  usual,  lanto  was  lying  wide  awake  and 
heard  them  say,  '  I  wish  we  had  some  good  bread 
and  cheese  this  cold  night,  but  the  poor  man  has 
only  a  morsel  left ;  and  though  it's  true  that  would 
be  a  good  meal  for  us,  it  is  but  a  mouthful  to  him, 
and  he  might  starve  if  we  took  it.'  At  this  lanto 
cried  out  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  *  Take  anything  I've 
got  in  my  cupboard  and  welcome  to  you  !'  Then  he 
turned  over  and  went  to  sleep.  The  next  morning, 
when  he  descended  into  the  kitchen,  he  looked  in 
his  cupboard,  to  see  if  by  good  luck  there  might  be 
a  bit  of  crust  there.  He  had  no  sooner  opened  the 
cupboard  door  than  he  cried  out,  *  O'r  anwyl !  what's 
this  ?'  for  there  stood  the  finest  cheese  he  had  ever 
seen  in  his  life,  with  two  loaves  of  bread  on  top  of 
it.  '  Lwc  dda  iti!'  cried  lanto,  waving  his  hand 
toward  the  wood  where  he  knew  the  fairies  lived  ; 
'  good  luck  to  you  !  May  you  never  be  hungry  or 
penniless !  *  And  he  had  not  got  the  words  out  of 
his  mouth  when  he  saw — what  do  you  think  ? — a 
shilling  on  the  hob  !  But  that  was  the  lucky  shilling. 
Every  morning  after  this,  when  lanto  got  up,  there 
was  the  shilling  on  the  hob — another  one,  you  mind, 
for  he'd  spent  the  first  for  beer  and  tobacco  to  go 


124  British  Goblins, 


with  his  bread  and  cheese.  Well,  after  that,  no  man 
in  the  parish  was  better  supplied  with  money  than 
lanto  Llewellyn,  though  he  never  did  a  stroke  of 
work.  He  had  enough  to  keep  his  wife  in  ease  and 
comfort,  too,  and  he  got  the  name  of  Lucky  lanto. 
And  lucky  he  might  have  been  to  the  day  of  his  death 
but  for  the  curiosity  of  woman.  Betsi  his  wife  was 
determined  to  know  where  all  this  money  came  from, 
and  gave  the  poor  man  no  peace.  *  Wei,  naw  wfft  T 
she  cried — which  means  in  English,  *  Nine  shames 
on  you  ' — '  to  have  a  bad  secret  from  your  own  dear 
wife  !'  *  But  you  know,  Betsi,  if  I  tell  you  I'll  never 
get  any  more  money.'  *  Ah,'  said  she,  '  then  it's  the 
fairies  ! '  *  Drato  ! '  said  he — and  that  means  '  Bother 
it  all ' — '  yes — the  fairies  it  is.'  With  that  he  thrust 
his  hands  down  in  his  breeches  pockets  in  a  sullen 
manner  and  left  the  house.  He  had  had  seven  shil- 
lings in  his  pockets  up  to  that  minute,  and  he  went 
feeling  for  them  with  his  fingers,  and  found  they  were 
gone.  In  place  of  them  were  some  pieces  of  paper 
fit  only  to  light  his  pipe.  And  from  that  day  the  ■ 
fairies  brought  him  no  more  money. 


\ 


m 

The  lesson  of  generosity  is  taught  with  force  and 
simplicity  in  the  legend  of  Hafod  Lwyddog,  and  the 
necessity  for  secrecy  is  quite  abandoned.  Again  it 
is  a  shepherd,  who  dwelt  at  Cwm  Dyli,  and  who 
went  every  summer  to  live  in  a  cabin  by  the  Green  ^ 
Lake  (Llyn  Glas)  along  with  his  fold.  One  morning  -^ 
on  awaking  from  sleep  he  saw  a  good-looking  damsel  1 
dressing  an  infant  close  by  his  side.  She  had  very  ^_ 
little  in  which  to  wrap  the  babe,  so  he  threw  her  an  \ 
old  shirt  of  his  own,  and  bade  her  place  it  about  the  | 
child.  She  thanked  him  and  departed.  Every  night 
thereafter  the  shepherd  found  a  piece  of  silver  placed 


m 


The  Realm  of  Faerie,  125 

in  an  old  clog  In  his  cabin.     Years  and  years  this 

good  luck  continued,  and  Meirig  the  shepherd  became 

immensely  wealthy.     He  married  a  lovely  girl,  and 

went   to   the   Hafod  Lwyddog  to  live.     Whatever 

he   undertook  prospered — hence   the   name   Hafod 

Lwyddog,  for  Lwydd  means  prosperity.    The  fairies 

paid  nightly  visits  to  the  Hafod.     No  witch  or  evil 

sprite  could  harm  this  people,  as  Bendith  y  Mammau 

was  poured   down   upon  the  family,   and  all   their 

descendants.^ 

VI. 

The  thought  will  naturally  occur  that  by  fostering 
belief  in  such  tales  as  some  of  the  foregoing,  roguery 
might  make  the  superstition  useful  in  silencing  inquiry 
as  to  Ill-gotten  gains.  But  on  the  other  hand  the 
virtues  of  hospitality  and  generosity  were  no  doubt 
fostered  by  the  same  Influences.  If  any  one  was 
favoured  by  the  fairies  in  this  manner,  the  immediate 
explanation  was,  that  he  had  done  a  good  turn  to 
them,  generally  without  suspecting  who  they  were. 
The  virtues  of  neatness,  In  young  girls  and  servants, 
were  encouraged  by  the  like  notions  ;  the  belief 
that  a  fairy  will  leave  money  only  on  a  clean-kept 
hob,  could  tend  to  nothing  more  directly.  It  was 
also  made  a  condition  of  pleasing  the  Tylwyth  Teg 
that  the  hearth  should  be  carefully  swept  and  the 
pails  left  full  of  water.  Then  the  fairies  would  come 
at  midnight,  continue  their  revels  till  daybreak, 
sing  the  well-known  strain  of  '  Toriad  y  Dydd,'  or 
'  The  Dawn,'  leave  a  piece  of  money  on  the  hob, 
and  disappear.  Here  Is  seen  a  precaution  against 
fire  In  the  clean-swept  hearth  and  the  provision  of 
filled  water-pails.  That  the  promised  reward  did  not 
always  arrive,  was  not  evidence  it  would  never  arrive  ; 
and  so  the  virtue  of  perseverance  was  also  fostered. 

^  '  Cymru  Fu,'  472. 


126 


British  Goblins. 


Superstitions  of  this  class  are  widely  prevalent 
among  Aryan  peoples.  The  'Arabian  Nights '  story 
of  the  old  rogue  whose  money  turned  to  leaves  will 
be  recalled.  In  Danish  folk-lore,  the  fairy  money 
bestowed  on  the  boors  turns  sometimes  to  pebbles, 
and  sometimes  grows  hot  and  burns  their  fingers, 
so  that  they  drop  it,  when  it  sinks  into  the  earth. 


TORIAD  Y  DYDD. 


t 


-^^^^^^^^^ 


Jfe:±±: 


m. 


i 


s 


it— I g*: 


W^^ 


i^ 


i:E^2 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  127 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Orif^ins  of  Welsh  Fairies — The  Realistic  Theory — Legend  of  the 
Baron's  Gate — The  Red  Fairies — The  Trwyn  Fairy  a  Proscribed 
Nobleman — The  Theory  of  hiding  Druids — Colour  in  Welsh 
Fairy  Attire — The  Green  Lady  of  Caerphilly — White  the  favourite 
Welsh  Hue — Legend  of  the  Prolific  Woman — The  Poetico-Reli- 
gious  Theory — The  Creed  of  Science. 

L 

Concerning  the  origin  of  the  Tylwyth  Teg,  there 
are  two  popular  explanations,  the  one  poetico-reli- 
gious  in  its  character,  the  other  practical  and  realistic. 
Both  are  equally  wide  of  the  truth,  the  true  origin  of 
fairies  being  found  in  the  primeval  mythology ;  but 
as  my  purpose  is  to  avoid  enlarging  in  directions 
generally  familiar  to  the  student,  1  have  only  to 
present  the  local  aspects  of  this,  as  of  the  other  - 
features  of  the  subject. 

The  realistic  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  Tylwyth 
Teg  must  be  mentioned  respectfully,  because  among 
its  advocates  have  been  men  of  culture  and  good 
sense.  This  theory  presumes  that  the  first  fairies 
were  men  and  women  of  mortal  flesh  and  blood, 
and  that  the  later  superstitions  are  a  mere  echo  of 
tales  which  first  were  told  of  real  beings.  In  quasi- 
support  of  this  theory,  there  is  a  well-authenticated 
tradition  of  a  race  of  beings  who,  in  the  middle  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  inhabited  the  Wood  of  the 
Great  Dark  Wood  (Coed  y  Dugoed  Mawr)  in 
Merionethshire,  and  who  were  called  the  Red 
Fairies.  They  lived  in  dens  in  the  ground,  had 
fiery  red  hair  and  long  strong  arms,  and  stole  sheep 


^ 


128  British  Goblins. 

and  cattle  by  night.     There  are  cottages  In  Cemmaes 
parish,  near   the  Wood  of  the  Great  Dark  Wood, 
with  scythes  in  the  chimneys,  which  were  put  there 
to  keep  these  terrible  beings  out.     One  Christmas 
eve  a  valiant  knight   named    Baron   Owen  headed 
a  company  of  warriors  who  assailed  the  Red  Fairies, 
and  found  them  flesh  and  blood.     The  Baron  hung 
a  hundred  of  them  ;  but  spared  the  women,  one  of 
whom  begged  hard  for  the  life  of  her  son.     The 
Baron   refused  her  prayer,  whereupon  she  opened 
her  breast  and  shrieked,    '  This  breast  has  nursed 
other  sons  than  he,  who  will  yet  wash  their  hands 
in  thy  blood.  Baron  Owen  ! '     Not  very  long  there- 
after, the  Baron  was  waylaid  at  a  certain  spot  by 
the  sons  of  the   '  fairy '  woman,  who  washed  their 
hands  in  his  warm  and  reeking  blood,  in  fulfilment 
of  their  mother's  threat.     And  to  this  day  that  spot 
goes  by  the  name  of  Llidiart  y  Barwn  (the  Baron  s 
Gate) ;    any  peasant  of  the  neighbourhood  will  tell 
you   the  story,  as  one  told  it  to  me.     There  is  of 
course  no  better  foundation  for  the  fairy  features  of 
it  than   the  fancies  of  the    ignorant   mind,   but  the 
legend  itself  is — very  nearly  in  this  shape — historical. 
The  beings  in  question  were  a  band  of  outlaws,  who 
might  naturally  find   it   to   their  interest   to  foster 
belief  in  their  supernatural  powers. 

II. 

The  so-called  Pwca  r  Trwyn,  which  haunted  th" 
farm-house  in  the  parish  of  Mynyddyslwyn,  is  some- 
times cited  as  another  case  in  which  a  fairy  was 
probably  a  being  of  flesh  and  blood  ;  and  if  this  be 
true,  it  of  course  proves  nothing  but  the  adoption 
of  an  ancient  superstition  by  a  proscribed  Welsh 
nobleman.  There  is  a  tradition  that  this  fairy  had 
a   name,   and   that   this   name   was   '  yr   Arglwydd 


II 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  129 

Hywel/  which  Is  in  English  *  Lord  Howell.'  And 
it  is  argued  that  this  Lord,  in  a  contest  with  the 
forces  of  the  English  king,  was  utterly  worsted, 
and  driven  into  hiding  ;  that  his  tenants  at  Panty- 
gasseg  and  the  Trwyn  Farm,  loving  their  Lord, 
helped  to  hide  him,  and  to  disseminate  the  belief 
that  he  was  a  household  fairy,  or  Bwbach.  It  is 
related  that  he  generally  spoke  from  his  own  room 
in  this  farm-house,  in  a  gentle  voice  which  *  came 
down  between  the  boards '  into  the  common  room 
beneath.  One  day  the  servants  were  comparing 
their  hands,  as  to  size  and  whiteness,  when  the 
fairy  was  heard  to  say,  *  The  Pwca's  hand  is  the 
fairest  and  smallest.'  The  servants  asked  if  the 
fairy  would  show  its  hand,  and  immediately  a  plank 
overhead  was  moved  and  a  hand  appeared,  small, 
fair  and  beautifully  formed,  with  a  large  gold  ring 
on  the  little  finger. 

III. 

Curiously  interesting  is  the  hypothesis  concerning 
the  realistic  origin  of  the  Tylwyth  Teg,  which  was 
put  forth  at  the  close  of  the  last  century  by  several 
writers,  among  them  the  Rev.  Peter  Roberts,  author 
of  the  '  Collectanea  Cambrica.'  This  hypothesis 
precisely  accounts  for  the  fairies  anciently  as  being 
the  Druids,  in  hiding  from  their  enemies,  or  if  not 
they,  other  persons  who  had  such  cause  for  living 
concealed  in  subterraneous  places,  and  venturing 
forth  only  at  night.  '  Some  conquered  aborigines,' 
thought  Dr.  Guthrie ;  while  Mr.  Roberts  fancied 
that  as  the  Irish  had  frequently  landed  hostilely 
in  Wales,  *  it  was  very  possible  that  some  small 
bodies  of  that  nation  left  behind,  or  unable  to  return, 
and  fearing  discovery,  had  hid  themselves  in  caverns 
during  the  day,  and  sent  their  children  out  at  night, 
fantastically  dressed,  for  food  and  exercise,  and  thus 


130  British  Goblins, 


secured  themselves/  But  there  were  objections  to 
this  presumption,  and  the  Druidical  theory  was  the 
favourite  one.  Says  Mr.  Roberts  :  '  The  fairy 
customs  appeared  evidently  too  systematic,  and  too 
general,  to  be  those  of  an  accidental  party  reduced 
to  distress.  They  are  those  of  a  consistent  and 
regular  policy  instituted  to  prevent  discovery,  and 
to  inspire  fear  of  their  power,  and  a  high  opinion  of 
their  beneficence.  Accordingly  tradition  notes,  that 
to  attempt  to  discover  them  was  to  incur  certain 
destruction.  "They  are  fairies,"  says  Falstaff:  "he 
that  looks  on  them  shall  die."  They  were  not  to  be 
impeded  in  ingress  or  egress ;  a  bowl  of  milk  was  to 
be  left  for  them  at  night  on  the  hearth  ;  and,  in 
return,  they  left  a  small  present  in  money  when 
they  departed,  if  the  house  was  kept  clean ;  if  not, 
they  inflicted  some  punishment  on  the  negligent, 
which,  as  it  was  death  to  look  on  them,  they  were 
obliged  to  suffer,  and  no  doubt  but  many  unlucky 
tricks  were  played  on  such  occasions.  Their  general 
dress  was  green,  that  they  might  be  the  better  con- 
cealed ;  and,  as  their  children  might  have  betrayed 
their  haunts,  they  seem  to  have  been  suffered  to  go 
out  only  in  the  night  time,  and  to  have  been  enter- 
tained by  dances  on  moonlight  nights.  These 
dances,  like  those  round  the  May-pole,  have  been 
said  to  be  performed  round  a  tree ;  and  on  an 
elevated  spot,  mostly  a  tumulus,  beneath  which  was 
probably  their  habitation,  or  its  entrance.  The 
older  persons,  probably,  mixed  as  much  as  they 
dared  with  the  world ;  and,  if  they  happened  to  be 
at  any  time  recognised,  the  certainty  of  their  ven- 
geance was  their  safety.  If  by  any  chance  their 
society  was  thinned,  they  appear  to  have  stolen 
children,  and  changed  feeble  for  strong  infants. 
The  stolen  children,  if  beyond  infancy,  being  brought 


id 

II 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  131 

into  their  subterraneous  dwellings,  seem  to  have  had 
a  soporific  given  them,  and  to  have  been  carried  to 
a  distant  part  of  the  country ;  and,  being  there 
allowed  to  go  out  merely  by  night,  mistook  the 
night  for  the  day,  and  probably  were  not  undeceived 
until  it  could  be  done  securely.  The  regularity  and 
generality  of  this  system  shows  that  there  was  a 
body  of  people  existing  in  the  kingdom  distinct  from 
its  known  inhabitants,  and  either  confederated,  or 
obliged  to  live  or  meet  mysteriously ;  and  their 
rites,  particularly  that  of  dancing  round  a  tree, 
probably  an  oak,  as  Herne-s,  etc.,  as  well  as  their 
character  for  truth  and  probity,  refer  them  to  a 
Druidic  origin.  If  this  was  the  case,  it  is  easy  to 
conceive,  as  indeed  history  shows,  that,  as  the 
Druids  were  persecuted  by  the  Romans  and  Chris- 
tians, they  used  these  means  to  preserve  themselves 
and  their  families,  and  whilst  the  country  was  thinly 
peopled,  and  thickly  wooded,  did  so  successfully  ; 
and,  perhaps,  to  a  much  later  period  than  is 
imagined  :  till  the  increase  of  population  made  it 
impossible.  As  the  Druidical  was  one  of  the  most 
ancient  religions,  so  it  must  have  been  one  of  the 
first  persecuted,  and  forced  to  form  a  regular  plan  of 
security,  which  their  dwelling  in  caves  may  have 
suggested,  and  necessity  improved.' 

IV. 

It  will  be  observed  that  one  of  the  points  in  this 
curious  speculation  rests  on  the  green  dress  of  the 
fairies.  I  do  not  call  attention  to  it  with  any  Quixotic 
purpose  of  disputing  the  conclusion  it  assists  ;  it  is 
far  more  interesting  as  one  feature  of  the  general 
subject  of  fairies'  attire.  The  Welsh  fairies  are 
described  with  details  as  to  colour  in  costume  not 
commonly  met  with  in  fairy  tales,  a  fact  to  which  I 


132  British  Goblins, 


I 


have  before  alluded.  In  the  legend  of  the  Place  of 
Strife,  the  Tylwyth  Teg  encountered  by  the  women 
are  called  '  the  old  elves  of  the  blue  petticoat/ 
A  connection  with  the  blue  of  the  sky  has  here 
been  suggested.  It  has  also  been  pointed  out 
that  the  sacred  Druidical  dress  was  blue.  The 
blue  petticoat  fancy  seems  to  be  local  to  North 
Wales.  In  Cardiganshire,  the  tradition  respecting 
an  encampment  called  Moyddin,  which  the  fairies 
frequented,  is  that  they  were  always  in  green 
dresses,  and  were  never  seen  there  but  in  the 
vernal  month  of  May.  There  is  a  Glamorgan- 
shire goblin  called  the  Green  Lady  of  Caerphilly, 
the  colour  of  whose  dress  is  indicated  by  her  title. 
She  haunts  the  ruin  of  Caerphilly  Castle  at  night, 
wearing  a  green  robe,  and  has  the  power  of  turn- 
ing herself  into  ivy  and  mingling  with  the  ivy 
growing  on  the  wall.  A  more  ingenious  mode  of 
getting  rid  of  a  goblin  was  perhaps  never  invented. 
The  fairies  of  Frennifawr,  in  Pembrokeshire,  were 
on  the  contrary  gorgeous  in  scarlet,  with  red  caps, 
and  feathers  waving  in  the  wind  as  they  danced. 
But  others  were  in  white,  and  this  appears  to  be  the 
favourite  hue  of  modern  Welsh  fairy  costume,  when 
the  Tylwyth  Teg  are  in  holiday  garb.  These  various 
details  of  colour  are  due  to  the  fervour  of  the  Welsh 
fancy,  of  course,  and  perhaps  their  variety  may  in 
part  be  ascribed  to  a  keener  sense  of  the  fitness  of 
things  among  moderns  than  was  current  in  earlier 
times.  White,  to  the  Welsh,  would  naturally  be 
the  favourite  colour  for  a  beautiful  creature,  dancing 
in  the  moonlight  on  the  velvet  sward.  The  most 
popular  pet  name  for  a  Welsh  lass  is  to-day  exactly 
what  it  has  been  for  centuries,  viz.,  Gwenny,  the  dimi- 
nutive of  Gwenllian  (Anglicised  into  Gwendoline) — a 
name  which  means  simply  white  linen  ;  and  the  white 


11 


The  Realm  of  Faerie.  133 

costume  of  the  favourite  fairies  undoubtedly  signifies 
a  dress  of  white  Hnen.  This  fabric,  common  as  it  is 
in  our  day,  was  In  ancient  times  of  inestimable  value. 
In  the  Mabinogion,  linen  Is  repeatedly  particularised 
in  the  gorgeous  descriptions  of  fabled  splendour  in 
princely  castles — linen,  silk,  satin,  velvet,  gold-lace, 
and  jewels,  are  the  constantly-recurring  features  of 
sumptuous  attire.  In  his  account  of  the  royal  tribes 
of  Wales,  Yorke  mentions  that  linen  was  so  rare  in 
the  reign  of  Charles  VII.  of  France  (I.e.,  in  the  fif- 
teenth century)  '  that  her  majesty  the  queen  could 
boast  of  only  two  shifts  of  that  commodity.'  The 
first  cause  of  the  fairies'  robes  being  white  is  evi- 
dently to  be  discerned  here ;  and  In  Wales  the 
ancient  sentiment  as  to  whiteness  remains.  The 
Welsh  peasantry,  coarsely  and  darkly  clad  them- 
selves, would  make  white  a  purely  holiday  colour, 
and  devise  some  other  hue  for  such  commoner 
fairies  as  the  Bwbach  and  his  sort : 

The  coarse  and  country  fairy, 

That  doth  haunt  the  hearth  and  dairy .^ 

So  the  Bwbach  Is  usually  brown,  often  hairy ; 
and  the  Coblynau  are  black  or  copper-coloured  In 
face  as  well  as  dress. 

V. 

A  local  legend  of  the  origin  of  fairies  in  Anglesea 
mingles  the  practical  and  the  spiritual  in  this  manner : 
*  In  our  Saviour's  time  there  lived  a  woman  whose 
fortune  it  was  to  be  possessed  of  nearly  a  score  of 
children,  .  .  .  and  as  she  saw  our  blessed  Lord 
approach  her  dwelling,  being  ashamed  of  being  so 
prolific,  and  that  He  might  not  see  them  all,  she 
concealed  about  half  of  them  closely,  and  after  his 
departure,  when  she  went  In  search  of  them,  to  her 

^  Jonson,  Masque  of  *  Oberon.' 

K    2 


134  British  Goblins, 


great  surprise  found  they  were  all  gone.  They  never 
afterwards  could  be  discovered,  for  it  was  supposed 
that  as  a  punishment  from  heaven  for  hiding  what 
God  had  given  her,  she  was  deprived  of  them  ;  and 
it  is  said  these  her  offspring  have  generated  the 
race  called  fairies.'  ^ 

VI. 

The  common  or  popular  theory,  however,  is  in 
Wales  the  poetico-religious  one.  This  is,  in  a 
word,  the  belief  that  the  Tylwyth  Teg  are  the  souls 
of  dead  mortals  not  bad  enough  for  hell  nor  good 
enough  for  heaven.  They  are  doomed  to  live  on 
earth,  to  dwell  in  secret  places,  until  the  resurrec- 
tion day,  when  they  will  be  admitted  into  paradise. 
Meantime  they  must  be  either  incessantly  toiling  or 
incessantly  playing,  but  their  toil  is  fruitless  and 
their  pleasure  unsatisfying.  A  variation  of  this 
general  belief  holds  these  souls  to  be  the  souls  of 
the  ancient  Druids,  a  fancy  which  is  specially  im- 
pressive, as  indicating  the  duration  of  their  penance, 
and  reminds  us  of  the  Wandering  Jew  myth.  It  is 
confined  mainly  to  the  Coblynau,  or  dwellers  in 
mines  and  caves.  Another  variation  considers  the 
fairies  bad  spirits  of  still  remoter  origin — the  same 
in  fact  who  were  thrown  over  the  battlements  of 
heaven  along  with  Satan,  but  did  not  fall  into  hell 
— landed  on  the  earth  instead,  where  they  are  per- 
mitted to  tarry  till  doomsday  as  above.  A  detail 
of  this  theory  is  in  explanation  of  the  rare  appear- 
ance of  fairies  nowadays  ;  they  are  refraining  from 
mischief  in  view  of  the  near  approach  of  the  judg- 
ment, with  the  hope  of  thus  conciliating  heaven. 

The  Prophet  Jones,  in  explaining  why  the  fairies 
have  been  so  active  in  Wales,  expounds  the  poetico- 
religious  theory  in  masterly  form.    After  stating  that 

^  'Camb.  Sup,' 1 1 8. 


I 


Tlie  Realm  of  Faerie.  133 

some  in  Monmouthshire  were  so  ignorant  as  to  think 
the  fairies  happy  spirits,  because  they  had  music  and 
dancing  among  them,  he  proceeds  to  assert,  in  the 
most  emphatic  terms,   that    the  Tylwyth  Teg   are 
nothing  else,  'after  all  the  talking  about  them,' but 
the  disembodied  spirits  of  men  who  lived  and  died 
without  the  enjoyment  of  the  means  of  grace  and 
salvation,  as  Pagans  and  others,  and  whose  punish- 
ment therefore  is  far  less  severe  than  that  of  those 
who  have  enjoyed  the  means  of  salvation.     '  But 
some  persons  may  desire  to  know  why  these  fairies 
hape  appeared  in  Wales  more  than  in  some  other 
countries  ?   to  which  I  answer,  that  I   can  give  no 
other  reason  but  this,  that  having  lost  the  light  of 
the  true  religion  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries  of 
Christianity,   and  received   Popery  in   its   stead,   it 
became   dark   night   upon   them ;    and   then   these 
spirits  of  darkness  became  more  bold  and  intruding; 
and  the  people,  as  I  said  before,  in  their  great  igno- 
rance seeing  them  like  a  company  of  children  in  dry 
clean  places,  dancing  and  having  music  among  them, 
thought  them  to  be  some  happy  beings,  .  .  .  and 
made  them  welcome  in  their  houses.  .  .  .  The  Welsh 
entered  into  familiarity  with  the  fairies  in  the  time 
of  Henry  IV.,   and  the   evil   then  increased ;    the 
severe  laws  of  that  prince  enjoining,  among  other 
things,  that  they  were  not  to  bring  up  their  children 
to  learning,  etc.,  by  which  a  total  darkness  came  upon 
them  ;  ^  which  cruel   laws  were   occasioned   by  the 
rebellion  of  Owen  Glandwr,  and  the  Welsh  which 
joined  with  him  ;  foolishly  thinking  to  shake  off  the 
Saxon  yoke  before  they  had  repented  of  their  sins.* 

Whatever  their  locally  accepted  causes  of  being 
may  be,  it  is  beyond  any  question  that  in  the  fairy 
folk-lore  of  Wales,  as  of  other  lands,  are  to  be  found 
the  debris   of  ancient   mythology — scintillant   frag- 


136 


British  Goblins. 


I 


ments  of  those  magic  constellations  which  glow  in 
the  darkness  of  primeval  time,  grand  and  majestic 
as  the  vast  Unknown  out  of  which  they  were  evolved 
by  barbaric  fancy.  Through  the  aid  of  modern 
scientific  research,  *  those  ages  which  the  myths  of 
centuries  have  peopled  with  heroic  shadows '  ^  are 
brought  nearer  to  us,  and  the  humble  Welsh  Tylwyth 
Teg  may  reach  back  and  shake  hands  with  the 
Olympian  gods. 

^  Marquis  of  Bute,  address  before  the  Royal  Archaeological  Institute, 
Cardiff  meeting. 


'JK*  VvvwTYvkU'*ji4luiytiv  9Cd' jkitkfr    K<»<rtdlj  wvttx    CKe,    O'^TAplo/n.  '   C  oJ-s 


(   ^?>1   ) 


BOOK  II. 

THE  SPIRIT-WORLD. 

Where  the  wan  spectres  walk  eternal  rounds. 

Pope. 

Miranda.  What  is't  ?  a  spirit  ? 

Lord,  how  it  looks  about !     Believe  me,  sir, 
It  carries  a  brave  form  : — But  'tis  a  spirit. 

Shakespeare  :  Tempest. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Modern  Superstition  regarding  Ghosts — American  *  Spiritualism ' — 
Welsh  Beliefs — Classification  of  Welsh  Ghosts — Departed  Mortals 
—  Haunted  Houses  —  Lady  Stradling's  Ghost  —  The  Haunted 
Bridge — The  Legend  of  Catrin  Gwyn— Didactic  Purpose  in 
Cambrian  Apparitions  —  An  Insulted  Corpse  —  Duty-performing 
Ghosts — Laws  of  the  Spirit- World — Cadogan's  Ghost. 

I. 

In  an  age  so  given  to  mysticism  as  our  own,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  urge  that  the  Welsh  as  a  people  are 
not  more  superstitious  regarding  spirits  than  other 
peoples.  Belief  in  the  visits  to  earth  of  disembodied 
spirits  is  common  to  all  lands.  There  are  no  doubt 
differences  in  the  degree  of  this  belief,  as  there  are 
differences  in  matters  of  detail.  Where  or  how 
these  spirits  exist  are  questions  much  more  difficult 
to  the  average  faith  than  why  they  exist.  They 
exist  for  the  moral  good  of  man ;  of  this  there 
prevails   no   doubt.     The   rest  belongs  to  the  still 


138  British  Goblins, 


unsettled  science  of  the  Unknowable.  That  form 
of  mysticism  called  '  spiritualism '  by  its  disciples  is 
dignified  to  the  thoughtful  observer  by  being  viewed 
as  a  remnant  of  the  primeval  philosophy.  When 
we  encounter,  in  wandering  among  the  picturesque 
ghosts  of  the  Welsh  spirit-world,  last-century  stories 
displaying  details  exactly  similar  to  those  of  modern 
spiritualism,  our  interest  is  strongly  aroused.  The 
student  of  folk-lore  finds  his  materials  in  stories  and 
beliefs  which  appear  to  be  of  a  widespread  family, 
rather  than  in  stories  and  beliefs  which  are  unique  ; 
and  the  spirit  of  inquiry  is  constantly  on  the  alert,  in 
following  the  details  of  a  good  old  ghost  story, 
however  fascinating  it  may  be  in  a  poetic  sense. 
The  phantoms  of  the  Welsh  spirit-world  are  always 
picturesque  ;  they  are  often  ghastly  ;  sometimes 
they  are  amusing  to  the  point  of  risibility ;  but 
besides,  they  are  instructive  to  him  whose  purpose 
in  studying  is,  to  know. 

That  this  age  is  superstitious  with  regard  to 
ghosts,  is  not  wonderful ;  all  ages  have  been  so  ;  the 
wonder  is  that  this  age  should  be  so  and  yet  be  the 
possessor  of  a  scientific  record  so  extraordinary  as 
its  own.  An  age  which  has  brought  forth  the 
magnetic  telegraph,  steamships  and  railway  engines, 
sewing-machines,  mowing-machines,  gas-light,  and 
innumerable  discoveries  and  inventions  of  marvellous 
utility — not  to  allude  to  those  of  our  own  decade — 
should  have  no  other  use  for  ghostology  than  a 
scientific  one.  But  it  would  be  a  work  as  idle  as 
that  of  the  Coblynau  themselves,  to  point  out  how 
universal  among  the  most  civilised  nations  is  the 
superstition  that  spirits  walk.  The  '  controls  '  of  the 
modern  spiritualistic  seance  have  the  world  for  their 
audience.  The  United  States,  a  land  generally 
deemed — at  least  by  its  inhabitants — to  be  the  most 


The  Spirit- World.  139 

advanced  in  these  directions  of  any  on  God's  foot- 
stool, gave  birth  to  modern  spiritualism.  Its  disci- 
ples there  compose  a  vast  body  of  people,  respec- 
table and  worthy  people  in  the  main  (as  the  victims 
of  superstition  usually  are),  among  whom  are  many 
men  of  high  intellectual  ability.  With  the  masses, 
some  degree  of  belief  in  the  spirits  is  so  nearly  uni- 
versal that  I  need  hardly  qualify  the  adjective.  In 
a  country  where  there  is  practically  no  such  class  as 
that  represented  in  Europe  by  the  peasantry,  the 
rampancy  of  such  a  belief  is  a  phenomenon  deserving 
close  and  curious  study.  The  present  work  affords 
no  scope  for  this  study,  of  course.  But  I  may  here 
mention  in  further  illustration  of  my  immediate  theme, 
the  constant  appearance,  in  American  communities, 
of  ghosts  of  the  old-fashioned  sort.  Especially  in  the 
New  England  states,  which  are  notable  for  their  en- 
lightenment, are  ghost-stories  still  frequent — such  as 
that  of  the  haunted  school-house  at  Newburyport, 
Mass.,  where  a  disembodied  spirit  related  its  own 
murder ;  of  the  ghost  of  New  Bedford,  which  struck 
a  visitor  in  the  face,  so  that  he  yet  bears  the  marks  of 
the  blow  ;  of  the  haunted  house  at  Cambridge,  in  the 
classic  shadow  of  Harvard  College.  It  is  actually 
on  record  in  the  last-named  case,  that  the  house  fell 
to  decay  on  account  of  its  ghastly  reputation,  as  no 
one  would  live  in  it ;  that  a  tenant  who  ventured 
to  occupy  it  in  1877  was  disturbed  by  the  spirit  of 
a  murdered  girl  who  said  her  mortal  bones  were 
buried  in  his  cellar  ;  and  that  a  party  of  men  actually 
dug  all  night  in  that  cellar  in  search  of  those  bones, 
while  the  ghost  waltzed  in  a  chamber  overhead. 
The  more  common  form  of  spirit  peculiar  to  our 
time  appears  constantly  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  ;  it  is  continually  turning  up  in  the  Ameri- 
can newspapers,  rapping  on  walls,  throwing  stones, 


140  British  Goblins. 


tipping  over  tables,  etc.  *  Mediums '  of  every  grade 
of  shrewdness  and  stupidity,  and  widely  differing 
degrees  of  education  and  ignorance,  flourish  abun- 
dantly. Occasionally,  where  revelations  of  murder 
have  been  made  to  a  mortal  by  a  spirit,  the  police 
have  taken  the  matter  in  hand.  It  is  to  be  observed 
as  a  commendable  practice  in  such  cases,  that  the 
mortal  is  promptly  arrested  by  the  police  if  there  has 
really  been  a  murder ;  and  when  the  fact  appears, 
as  it  sometimes  does,  that  the  mortal  had  need  of  no 
ghost  to  tell  him  what  he  knows,  he  is  hanged. 

II. 

The  Welsh  dearly  love  to  discuss  questions  of  a 
spiritual  and  religious  nature,  and  there  are  no 
doubt  many  who  look  upon  disbelief  herein  as  some- 
thing approaching  paganism.  That  one  should 
believe  in  God  and  a  future  life,  and  yet  be  utterly 
incredulous  as  to  the  existence  of  a  mundane  spirit- 
world,  seems  to  such  minds  impossible.  It  is  not 
many  years  since  the  clergy  taught  a  creed  of  this 
sort.  One  must  not  only  believe  in  a  spiritual 
existence,  but  must  believe  in  that  existence  here 
below — must  believe  that  ghosts  walked,  and 
meddled,  and  made  disagreeable  noises.  Our  friend 
the  Prophet  Jones  taught  this  creed  with  energy. 
In  his  relation  of  apparitions  in  Monmouthshire,  he 
says  :  *  Enough  is  said  in  these  relations  to  satisfy 
any  reasonable  sober-minded  person,  and  to  confute 
this  ancient  heresy,  now  much  revived  and  spreading, 
especially  among  the  gentry,  and  persons  much 
estranged  from  God  and  spiritual  things  ;  and  such 
as  will  not  be  satisfied  with  things  plainly  proved 
and  well  designed  ;  are,  in  this  respect,  no  better 
than  fools,  and  to  be  despised  as  such.  .  .  .  They  are 
chiefly  women   and   men   of  weak   and   womanish 


The  Spirit-World.  141 

understandings,  who  speak  against  the  accounts  of 
spirits  and  apparitions.  In  some  women  this  comes 
from  a  certain  proud  fineness,  excessive  delicacy, 
and  a  superfine  disposition  which  cannot  bear  to 
be  disturbed  with  what  is  strange  and  disagreeable 
to  a  vain  spirit.'  Nor  does  the  Prophet  hesitate  to 
apply  the  term  *  Sadducees  *  to  all  doubters  of  his 
goblins.  His  warrant  for  this  is  found  in  Wesley 
and  Luther.  That  Luther  saw  apparitions,  or 
believed  he  did,  is  commonly  known.  Wesley's 
beliefs  in  this  direction,  however,  are  of  a  nearer 
century,  and  strike  us  more  strangely ;  though  it 
must  be  said  that  the  Prophet  Jones,  in  our  own 
century,  believed  more  than  either  of  his  eminent 
prototypes.  '  It  is  true,'  wrote  Wesley,  'that  the 
English  in  general,  and  indeed  most  of  the  men  in 
Europe,  have  given  up  all  accounts  of  witches  and 
apparitions  as  mere  old  wives'  fables.  I  am  sorry 
for  it,  and  I  willingly  take  this  opportunity  of 
entering  my  solemn  protest  against  this  violent 
compliment  which  so  many  that  believe  the  Bible 
pay  to  those  who  do  not  believe  it.  .  .  .  They  well 
know,  whether  Christians  know  it  or  not,  that  the 
giving  up  witchcraft  is,  in  effect,  giving  up  the  Bible. 
And  they  know,  on  the  other  hand,  that  if  but  one 
account  of  the  intercourse  of  men  with  separate 
spirits  be  admitted,  their  whole  castle  in  the  air 
— deism,  atheism,  materialism — falls  to  the  ground.* 

III. 

The  ghosts  of  Wales  present  many  well-defined 
features.  It  is  even  possible  to  classify  them,  after 
a  fashion.  Of  course,  as  with  all  descriptions  of 
phantoms,  the  vagueness  inevitable  in  creatures  of 
the  imagination  is  here  ;  but  the  ghosts  of  Welsh 
tradition  are  often  so  old,  and  have  been  handed 


142-  British  Goblins. 

down  so  cleanly  through  successive  generations, 
that  in  our  day  they  have  almost  acquired  defi- 
nite outlines,  as  in  the  case  of  images  arising 
from  the  perceptions.  Always  bearing  in  mind 
the  risk  of  being  lost  in  the  labyrinthine  eccen- 
tricities of  popular  fancy,  compared  to  which  the 
Arsinoe  of  Herodotus  was  unperplexing,  I  venture 
to  classify  the  inhabitants  of  the  Welsh  spirit-world 
thus:  I.  Departed  Mortals;  2.  Goblin  Animals; 
3.  Spectres  of  Natural  Objects ;  4.  Grotesque 
Ghosts  ;  5.  Familiar  Spirits  ;    6.  Death  Omens. 

IV. 

The  ghosts  of  departed  mortals  are  usually  the 
late  personal  acquaintances  of  the  people  who  see 
them.  But  sometimes  they  are  strangers  whom 
nobody  knows,  and  concerning  whom  everybody  is 
curious.  Two  such  ghosts  haunted  the  streets  of 
Ebbw  Vale,  in  Glamorganshire,  in  January,  1877. 
One  was  in  the  shape  of  an  old  woman,  the  other  in 
that  of  a  girl  child.  Timid  people  kept  indoors 
after  nightfall,  and  there  were  many  who  believed 
thoroughly  in  the  ghostly  character  of  the  mysterious 
visitors.  Efforts  were  made  to  catch  them,  but  they 
eluded  capture.  It  was  hinted  by  materialists  that 
they  were  thieves  ;  by  unbelievers  in  spiritualism 
that  they  had  perhaps  escaped  from  a  seance  in 
some  adjoining  town.  These  ghosts,  however,  are 
not  very  interesting.  A  cultivated  moderner  can 
have  no  satisfaction  in  forming  the  acquaintance  of 
a  seance  ghost ;  it  is  quite  otherwise  in  the  case  of 
a  respectable  old  family  goblin  which  has  haunted 
a  friend's  house  in  the  most  orthodox  manner  for 
centuries.  Such  ghosts  are  numerous  in  Wales,  and 
quite  faithfully  believed  in  by  selected  individuals. 
Indeed   one  of  the  highest   claims  to   a   dignified 


The  Spirit- World.  143 


antiquity  that  can  be  put  in  by  a  Welsh  family 
mansion,  is  the  possession  of  a  good  old-fashioned 
blood-curdling  spectre — like  that,  for  example,  which 
has  haunted  Duffryn  House,  a  handsome  stone 
manse  near  Cardiff,  for  the  past  two  hundred  years 
and  more.  This  is  the  ghost  of  the  doughty  admiral 
Sir  Thomas  Button,  famed  in  his  day  as  an  Arctic 
navigator.  Since  his  death  he  has  faithfully  haunted 
(so  the  local  farm  folk  say)  the  cellar  and  the  garden 
of  Duffryn  House,  where  he  lived,  when  he  did  live, 
which  was  in  the  17th  century.  He  has  never  been 
known  to  appear  in  hall  or  chamber  of  the  mansion, 
within  the  memory  of  man,  but  has  been  seen 
hovering  over  the  beer  butt  or  tun  in  the  cellar, 
commemorated  in  his  name,  and  walking  in  the 
flower-garden  of  a  fine  windy  night. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  in  Wales  it  is  by  no  means 
necessary  that  a  house  should  be  tenantless,  mortally 
speaking,  merely  because  a  ghost  haunts  it.  The 
dreary  picture  of  desolation  drawn  by  Hood,  the 
all-sufficient  explanation  of  which  was — 

.  .  .  the  place  is  haunted  ! 

would  not  recall  the  smug  tidiness  of  Dufiryn  House, 
whose  clean-cut  lawns  and  well-trimmed  hedges  are 
fit  surroundings  of  a  mansion  where  luxurious 
comfort  reigns.  A  ghost  which  confines  itself  to 
the  cellar  and  the  garden  need  disturb  neither  the 
merrymaking  nor  the  slumbers  of  the  guests. 

St.  Donat's  Castle  is  down  on  the  southern  coast 
of  Glamorganshire,  in  a  primitive  region  not  yet 
profaned  by  railroads,  nor  likely  to  be  perhaps  for 
many  years  to  come.  It  Is  owned  and  Inhabited 
by  a  worthy  gentleman  whose  ancestors  for  seven 
centuries  sleep  in  the  graveyard  under  the  old 
castle  wall.     Its  favourite  ghost — for  to  confine  this 


144  British  Goblins, 


or  any  other  ancient  Welsh  castle  to  a  single  ghost 
would  be  almost  disrespectful — is  that  of  Lady 
Stradling,  who  was  done  away  with  by  some  of  her 
family  in  those  wicked  old  times  when  families  did  not 
always  dwell  in  peace  together.  This  ghost  makes 
a  practice  of  appearing  when  any  mishap  is  about 
to  befall  a  member  of  the  house  of  Stradling — the 
direct  line  of  which  is,  however,  extinct,  a  fact  not 
very  well  apprehended  among  the  neighbouring 
peasantry.  She  wears  high-heeled  shoes  and  a  long 
trailing  gown  of  the  finest  silk.  In  this  guise  doth 
she  wander  up  and  down  the  long  majestic  halls  and 
chambers,  and,  while  she  wanders,  the  castle  hounds 
refuse  to  rest,  but  with  their  bowlings  raise  all  the 
dogs  of  the  village  under  the  hill. 


Ghosts  of  this  sort  are  vague  and  purposeless  in 
character,  beyond  a  general  blood-curdling  office 
which  in  all  ghosts  doth  dwell.  They  haunt  not 
only  castles  and  family  mansions,  but  bridges,  rocks, 
and  roads,  objectless  but  frightful.  The  ghost  of 
Pont  Cwnca  Bach,  near  Yscanhir,  in  Carmarthen- 
shire, frightens  people  off  the  bridge  into  the  rivulet. 
Many  belated  peasants  have  had  this  dire  experience 
at  the  little  bridge,  afterwards  wandering  away  in  a 
dazed  condition,  and  finding  themselves  on  recover- 
ing at  some  distance  from  home,  often  in  the  middle 
of  a  bog.  In  crossing  this  bridge  people  were  seized 
with  '  a  kind  of  cold  dread,'  and  felt  *  a  peculiar 
sensation '  which  they  could  not  describe,  but  which 
the  poorest  fancy  can  no  doubt  imagine.  Another 
purposeless  spectre  exists  in  the  legend  of  Catrin 
Gwyn,  told  in  Cardiganshire.  The  ruin  of  a  shep- 
herd's cottage,  standing  on  a  mountain  waste  near 
the    river    Rheidol,    is   the    haunt  of   this    spectre. 


The  Spirit-World.  145 

A  peasant  who  was  asked  to  escort  a  stranger  up 
the  narrow  defile  of  rocks  by  the  ruin,  in  horror  ex- 
claimed, '  Yn  enw  y  daioni,  peidiwch,'  (in  the  name 
of  heaven,  sir,  don't  go !)  '  or  you'll  meet  White 
Catti  of  the  Grove  Cave.'  *  And  what's  that  ? ' 
*  An  evil  spirit,  sir/  And  the  superstitious  peasant 
would  neither  be  laughed  nor  reasoned  out  of  his 
fears.  Catrin  was  the  bride  of  a  young  shepherd 
living  near  Machynlleth  in  1705.  One  day  she 
went  to  market  with  a  party  of  other  peasants,  who 
separated  from  her  on  the  return  way  at  a  point  two 
miles  from  Gelli  Gogo.  She  was  never  more  seen 
alive.  A  violent  storm  arose  in  the  night,  and  next 
day  a  scrap  of  her  red  cloak  was  found  on  the  edge 
of  a  frightful  bog,  in  which  she  is  believed  to  have 
disappeared  in  the  darkness  and  storm.  The  hus- 
band went  mad  ;  their  cottage  fell  to  decay ;  and 
to  this  day  the  shepherds  declare  that  Catti's  ghost 
haunts  the  spot.  It  is  most  often  seen,  and  in  its 
most  terrific  shape,  during  howling  storms,  when  it 
rides  on  the  gale,  shrieking  as  it  goes.^ 

VI. 

Few  Cambrian  spirits  are  devoid  of  a  didactic 
purpose.  Some  teach  reverence  for  the  dead, — a 
lesson  in  great  request  among  the  rising  generation 
in  Wales  and  elsewhere.  The  church  at  Tregaron, 
Cardiganshire,  was  being  rebuilt  in  1877,  and  certain 
skulls  were  turned  up  by  the  diggers  in  making  new 
foundations.  The  boys  of  Tregaron  amused  them- 
selves playing  ball  with  the  skulls,  picking  out  their 
teeth,  banging  them  against  the  wall  to  see  if  they 
would  break,  and  the  like.^  They  probably  never 
heard  the  story  told  by  Mrs.  Morgan  of  Newport 

Camb.  Quarterly,'  i.,  452. 


146  British  Goblins, 


to  the  Prophet  Jones  :  of  some  people  who  were 
drinking  at  an  inn  there,  '  two  of  them  officers  of 
excise,'  when  one  of  the  men,  to  show  his  courage, 
declared  he  was  afraid  of  no  ghosts,  and  dared  go  to 
the  charnel  house  and  fetch  a  skull  from  that  ghastly 
place.  This  bold  and  dangerous  thing  he  did,  and 
the  men  debated,  over  their  beer,  whether  it  was  a 
male  or  a  female  skull,  and  concluded  it  was  a 
woman's,  '  though  the  grave  nearly  destroys  the 
difference  between  male  and  female  before  the 
bones  are  turned  to  dust,  and  the  difference  then 
quite  destroyed  and  known  only  to  God.'  After 
a  jolly  hour  over  the  skull,  the  bold  one  carried  it 
back  and  left  it  where  he  got  it ;  but  as  he  was 
leaving  the  church,  suddenly  a  tremendous  blast 
like  a  whirlwind  seized  him,  and  so  mauled  and 
hauled  him  that  his  teeth  chattered  in  his  head  and 
his  knees  knocked  together,  and  he  ever  after 
swore  that  nothing  should  tempt  him  to  such  a  deed 
again.  He  was  still  more  convinced  that  the  ghost 
of  the  original  owner  of  the  skull  had  been  after  him, 
when  he  got  home,  and  his  wife  told  him  that  his 
cane,  which  hung  in  the  room,  had  been  beating 
against  the  wall  in  a  dreadful  manner. 

VII. 

As  a  rule,  the  motive  for  the  reappearance  on 
earth  of  a  spirit  lately  tenanting  a  mortal  body, 
is  found  in  some  neglected  duty.  The  spirit  of  a 
suicide  is  morally  certain  to  walk  :  a  reason  why 
suicides  are  so  unpopular  as  tenants  of  graveyards. 
It  is  a  brave  man  who  will  go  to  the  grave  of  a 
suicide  and  play  '  Hob  y  deri  dando  '  on  the  ystur- 
mant  (jew's-harp),  without  missing  a  note.  Many 
are  the  tales  displaying  the  motive,  on  the  ghost's 
part,  of  a  duty  to  perform — sometimes  clearly  defining 


The  Spirit-World,  147 

it,  sometimes  vaguely  suggesting  it,  as  in  the  story 
of  Noe.  *  The  evening  was  far  gone  when  a 
traveller  of  the  name  of  Noe  arrived  at  an  inn  in 
Pembrokeshire,  and  called  for  refreshment.  After 
remaining  some  time  he  remarked  that  he  must 
proceed  on  his  journey.  ''Surely,"  said  the  astonished 
landlord,  '*  you  will  not  travel  at  night,  for  it  is  said 
that  a  ghost  haunts  that  road,  crying  out.  The  days 
are  long  and  the  nights  are  cold  to  wait  for  Noe." 
''  O,  I  am  the  man  sought  for,"  said  he,  and  imme- 
diately departed ;  but  strange  to  say,  neither  Noe 
nor  the  ghost  was  ever  heard  of  afterwards.'  ^ 

The  ghost  of  a  weaver,  which  appeared  to  Walter 
John  Harry,  had  a  very  clear  idea  of  the  duty  he 
must  perform  :  Walter  John  Harry  was  a  Quaker, 
a  harmless,  honest  man,  and  by  trade  a  farrier,  who 
lived  in  the  romantic  valley  of  Ebwy  Fawr.  The 
house  he  lived  in  was  haunted  by  the  ghost  of 
Morgan  Lewis,  a  weaver,  v/ho  had  died  in  that 
house.  One  night,  while  lying  awake  in  his  bed, 
with  his  wife  sleeping  by  his  side,  Harry  saw  a 
light  slowly  ascending  the  stairs,  and  being  some- 
what afraid,  though  he  was  naturally  a  fearless  man, 
strove  to  awake  his  wife  by  pinching  her,  but  could 
not  awake  her.  So  there  he  lay  in  great  fear,  and 
with  starting  eyes  beheld  the  ghost  of  the  weaver 
come  up  the  stairs,  bearing  a  candle  in  its  hand,  and 
wearing  a  white  woollen  cap  on  its  head,  with  other 
garments  usual  to  the  weaver  when  alive.  The 
ghost  came  near  the  farrier's  bed,  who  then  mustered 
up  courage  to  speak  to  it.  *  Morgan  Lewis,'  said 
Harry,  '  why  dost  thou  walk  this  earth  ? '  The 
ghost  replied  with  great  solemnity,  that  its  reason 
for  so  doing  was  that  there  were  some  '  bottoms  of 
wool '  hidden  in  the  wall  of  this  house,  and  until  these 

1  'Camb.  Sup.' 31. 


148  British  Goblins. 


said  bottoms  were  removed  from  the  wall  it  could 
not  sleep.  The  ghost  did  not  say  this  wool  had 
been  stolen,  but  such  was  the  inference.  However, 
the  harmless  farrier  spoke  severely  to  the  ghost, 
saying,  *  I  charge  thee,  Morgan  Lewis,  in  the  name 
of  God,  that  thou  trouble  my  house  no  more.' 
Whereupon  the  ghost  vanished,  and  the  house 
ceased  thereafter  to  be  haunted. 

The  motives  animating  ghosts  are  much  the  same 
the  world  over,  and  these  details  have  no  greater 
novelty  than  that  of  the  local  colouring.  European 
peoples  are  familiar  with  the  duty-compelled  ghost ; 
but  it  is  odd  to  encounter  the  same  spectre  in  China. 
The  most  common  form  of  Chinese  ghost-story  is 
that  wherein  the  ghost  seeks  to  bring  to  justice  the 
murderer  who  shuffled  off  its  mortal  coil.  The 
ghosts  of  suicides  are  also  especially  obnoxious 
there.  The  spectres  which  are  animated  by  a  sense 
of  duty  are  more  frequently  met  than  any  others  : 
now  they  seek  to  serve  virtue  in  distress,  now  they 
aim  to  restore  wrongfully-held  treasure.^ 

VIII. 

The  laws  governing  the  Welsh  spirit-world  are 
clear  and  explicit.  A  ghost  on  duty  bent  has  no 
power  of  speech  until  first  spoken  to.  Its  persist- 
ency in  haunting  Is  due  to  its  eager  desire  to  speak, 
and  tell  its  urgent  errand,  but  the  person  haunted 
must  take  his  courage  in  both  hands  and  put  the 
question  to  the  issue.  Having  done  so,  he  is  booked 
for  the  end  of  the  business,  be  it  what  It  may.  The 
mode  of  speech  adopted  must  not  vary.  In  address- 
ing a  spirit ;  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  or 
Holy  Ghost  it  must  be  addressed,  and  not  otherwise. 
Its  business  must  be  demanded  ;    three  times  the 

*  Dennys,  '  Folk-Lore  of  China,'  73. 


The  Spirit-World.  149 

question  must  be  repeated,  unless  the  ghost  answer 
earlier.  When  it  answers,  it  speaks  in  a  low  and 
hollow  voice,  stating  its  desire ;  and  it  must  not  be 
interrupted  while  speaking,  for  to  interrupt  it  is 
dangerous  in  the  extreme.  At  the  close  of  its 
remarks,  questions  are  in  order.  They  must  be 
promptly  delivered,  however,  or  the  ghost  will  vanish. 
They  must  bear  on  the  business  in  hand :  it  is 
offended  if  asked  as  to  its  state,  or  other  idle  ques- 
tions born  of  curiosity.  Neglect  to  obey  the  ghost  s 
injunctions  will  lead  to  much  annoyance,  and  even- 
tually to  dire  results.  At  first  the  spirit  will  appear 
with  a  discontented  visage,  next  with  an  angry  one, 
and  finally  with  a  countenance  distorted  with  the 
most  ferocious  rage.  Obedience  is  the  only  method 
of  escape  from  its  revenge.  Such  is  a  restimS  of 
the  laws.  The  illustrations  thereof  are  generally 
consistent  in  their  details. 

The  story  of  Cadogan's  ghost  is  one  of  many  in 
kind.  Thomas  Cadogan  was  the  owner  of  a  large 
estate  in  the  parish  of  Llanvihangel  Llantarnam, 
and  being  a  covetous  man  did  wickedly  remove 
his  landmarks  in  such  a  way  as  to  absorb  to  himself 
part  of  the  land  of  a  widow  his  neighbour.  After 
his  death  this  injustice  troubled  him,  and  as  a 
certain  woman  was  going  home  one  night,  at  a  stile 
she  passed  over  she  met  Cadogan's  ghost.  By  a 
strange  forgetfulness,  this  woman  for  the  moment 
lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  Cadogan  was  now  a  ghost  ; 
she  had  momentarily  forgotten  that  Cadogan  was 
dead.  *  Mr.  Cadogan,'  said  she,  with  ungrammatlcal 
curiosity,  'what  does  you  here  this  time  o'  night  ?' 
To  which  the  ghost  answered,  '  I  was  obliged  to 
come.'  It  then  explained  the  matter  of  the  land- 
marks, and  begged  the  woman  to  request  a  certain 
person  (whom  it  mentioned)  to  remove  them  back 

L  2 


ISO 


British  Goblins. 


to  their  proper  places  ;  and  then  the  ghost  vanished. 
At  this  unexpected  termination  of  the  interview, 
the  woman  suddenly  recollected  Cadogan's  death, 
and  fell  into  a  state  of  extreme  terror.  She  how- 
ever did  as  the  ghost  had  bidden  her,  and  Cadogan 
walked  no  more. 


(     151     ) 


CHAPTER  II. 

Household  Ghosts  and  Hidden  Treasures — The  Miser  of  St.  Donat's — 
Anne  Dewy's  Ghost — The  Ghost  on  Horseback— Hidden  Objects 
of  Small  Value — Transportation  through  the  Air — From  Brecon- 
shire  to  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  in  Thirty-Six  Hours — Sir  David  Llwyd, 
the  Magician  —  The  Levitation  of  Walter  Jones — Superstitions 
regarding  Hares  —  The  Legend  of  Monacella's  Lambs  —  Aerial 
Transportation  in  Modern  Spiritualism — Exorcising  Household 
Ghosts — The  Story  of  Haunted  Margaret. 

I. 

The  majority  of  stories  of  this  class  turn  on  the 
subject  of  hidden  treasures.  The  popular  belief  is 
that  if  a  person  die  while  any  hoarded  money — or 
indeed  metal  of  any  kind,  were  it  nothing  more  than 
old  iron — is  still  hidden  secretly,  the  spirit  of  that 
person  cannot  rest.  Its  perturbation  can  only  be 
relieved  by  finding  a  human  hand  to  take  the  hidden 
metal,  and  throw  it  down  the  stream  of  a  river.  To 
throw  it  up  the  stream,  will  not  do.  The  Ogmore 
is  the  favourite  river  for  this  purpose  in  lower 
Glamorganshire.  The  spirit  selects  a  particular 
person  as  the  subject  of  its  attentions,  and  haunts 
that  person  till  asked  what  it  wants,  when  it  prefers 
its  request.  Some  say  it  is  only  ill-gotten  treasure 
which  creates  this  disturbance  of  the  grave's  repose. 
A  tailor's  wife  at  Llantwit  Major,  who  had  been  a 
stout  and  jolly  dame,  was  thus  haunted  until  she  was 
worn  to  the  semblance  of  a  skeleton,  'for  not 
choosing  to  take  a  hoard  honestly  to  the  Ogmore.' 
But  flesh  and  blood  could  not  resist  for  ever,  and  so 
—this  is  her  story  :  '  I  at  last  consented,  for  the  sake 


152  British  Goblins. 


of  quiet,  to  take  the  treasure  to  the  river ;  and  the 
spirit  wafted  me  through  the  air  so  high  that  I  saw- 
below  me  the  church  loft,  and  all  the  houses,  as  if  I 
leaned  out  of  a  balloon.  When  I  took  the  treasure 
to  throw  it  into  the  river,  in  my  flurry  I  flung  it  up 
stream  instead  of  down  :  and  on  this  the  spirit, 
with  a  savage  look,  tossed  me  into  a  whirlwind,  and 
however  I  got  back  to  my  home  I  know  not.'  The 
bell-ringers  found  her  lying  insensible  in  the  church 
lane,  as  they  were  going  home  from  church  late  in 
the  evening.  * 

II. 

There  was  an  old  curmudgeon  of  a  money- hoarder 
who  lived  in  a  cottage  on  the  side  of  the  cwm,  or 
dingle,  at  St.  Donat's,  not  far  from  the  Castle.  His 
housekeeper  was  an  antique  dame  of  quaint  aspect. 
He  died,  and  the  dame  lived  there  alone ;  but  she 
began  to  grow  so  gaunt  and  grizzly  that  people 
wondered  at  it,  and  the  children  ran  frightened  from 
her.  Some  one  finally  got  from  her  the  confession 
that  she  was  haunted  by  the  miser's  ghost.  To 
relieve  her  of  its  presence  the  Methodists  resolved  to 
hold  a  prayer-meeting  in  the  haunted  house.  While 
they  were  there  singing  and  praying  the  old  woman 
suddenly  jumped  up  and  screamed,  '  There  he  is  ! 
there  he  is  ! '  The  people  grew  silent.  Then  some 
one  said,  *  Ask  it  what  it  wants.'  '  What  do  you 
want  ? '  quavered  the  old  woman.  No  one  heard 
the  reply,  except  the  dame,  who  presently  said  : 
*  Where  is  it  ?  '  Then  the  old  woman,  nodding  and 
staring  as  if  obeying  an  invisible  mandate,  groped 
her  way  to  the  chimney,  thrust  her  gaunt  arm  up, 
and  drew  down  a  bag  of  money.  With  this  she 
cried  out,  *  Let  me  go !  let  me  go  ! '  which,  no  one 
preventing  her,  she  did,  as  quickly  as  a  flash  of  light. 
Some  young  men  by  the  door  followed  her,  and,  it 


The  Spirit- World,  153 

being  a  bright  moonlight  night,  beheld  her  whisk 
over  the  stile  without  touching  it,  and  so  off  up  the 
road  towards  the  Ogmore.  The  people  now  resumed 
their  praying  and  singing.  It  was  an  hour  before 
the  old  woman  got  back,  and  then  she  was  found  to 
be  spattered  with  mud  and  bedraggled  with  wet,  as 
if  she  had  been  having  a  terrific  time.  She  had 
indeed,  as  she  confessed,  been  to  the  Ogmore,  and 
thrown  the  bag  of  money  down  the  stream ;  the 
ghost  had  then  taken  off  its  hat,  made  a  low  bow, 
and  vanished,  to  trouble  her  no  more. 

III. 

A  young  man  from  Llywel  parish,  who  was  court- 
ing a  lass  who  lodged  at  the  house  of  Thomas 
Richard,  in  the  vale  of  Towy,  found  himself  haunted 
as  he  went  to  and  fro  by  the  ghost  of  Anne  Dewy, 
a  woman  who  had  hanged  herself  She  would  not 
only  meet  him  in  the  road,  and  frighten  him,  but 
she  would  come  to  his  bedside,  and  so  scare  him 
that  he  fell  ill.  While  he  was  ill  his  cousin  came 
to  see  him,  and  thinking  his  illness  was  due  to  his 
being  crossed  in  love,  rallied  him,  saying,  *  Wfft ! 
thou'rt  sick  because  thy  cariad  has  refused  thee.' 
But  being  gravely  answered,  and  told  of  Anne 
Dewy's  ghost,  this  cousin  advised  the  haunted  man 
to  speak  to  her.  '  Speak  to  her,'  said  he,  '  or  thou 
wilt  have  no  quiet.  I  will  go  with  thee,  and  see 
thou  shalt  have  no  harm.'  So  they  went  out,  and 
called  at  Tafarn  y  Garreg,  an  inn  not  far  off;  but 
the  haunted  man  could  not  drink,  and  often  looked 
towards  the  door.  '  What  ails  the  man  ? '  asked  the 
tap-room  loungers.  He  continued  to  be  uneasy, 
and  finally  went  out,  his  cousin  following  him,  and 
then  he  saw  the  ghost  again.  '  Oh  God,  here  she  is  ! ' 
he  cried  out,  his  teeth  chattering  and  his  eyes  rolling. 


154  British  Goblins. 


*  This  is  a  sad  thing/  said  his  cousin :  *  I  know 
not  what  to  think  of  thee  ;  but  come,  I  will  go  with 
thee,  go  where  thou  wilt/  They  returned  to  the 
ale-house,  and  after  a  while  the  haunted  man  started 
up,  saying  he  was  called,  but  when  others  offered  to 
go  with  him  he  said  no,  he  must  go  alone.  He  did 
go  alone,  and  spoke  to  the  ghost,  who  said,  '  Fear 
nothing ;  follow  me/  She  led  him  to  a  spot  behind 
the  house  where  she  had  lived  when  in  the  flesh, 
and  where  she  had  hanged  herself,  and  bade 
him  take  from  the  wall  a  small  bag.  He  did  so. 
The  bag  contained  '  a  great  sum  of  money,'  in  pieces 
of  gold  ;  he  guessed  it  might  be  200/.  or  more.  But 
the  ghost,  greatly  to  his  regret,  bade  him  go  and 
cast  it  into  the  river.  He  obeyed,  against  his  better 
judgment.  The  next  day,  and  for  many  a  day  there- 
after, people  looked  for  that  money  where  he  had 
thrown  it  in  the  river,  but  it  never  could  be  found. 
The  Rev.  Thomas  Lewis,  a  dissenting  minister  in 
those  parts,  saw  the  place  in  the  wall  where  the 
money  had  been  hid,  in  the  haunted  house,  and 
wondered  how  the  young  man  could  reach  it,  it 
being  so  very  high ;  but  thought  it  likely  he  was 
assisted  by  the  ghost. 

IV. 

This  same  Rev.  Thomas  Lewis  was  well  acquainted 
with  a  man  who  was  similarly  employed  by  a  per- 
turbed spirit,  and  was  at  the  man's  bedside  when 
he  died.  This  ghost  was  in  appearance  a  clergy- 
man, dressed  in  black  clothes,  with  a  white  wig 
on.  As  the  man  was  looking  out  of  an  ale-house 
window  one  night,  he  saw  this  ghost  on  horseback, 
and  went  out  to  him.  The  ghost  bowed  and  silently 
offered  him  drink  ;  but  this  was  declined.  There- 
upon the  ghost  lifted  his  hat,  crooked  his  elbow,  and 
said   in    a    hollow    tone,    '  Attoch    chwi,    syr,'    (to- 


The  Spirit-World.  155 


wards  you,  sir).  But  others  who  were  there  could 
see  nothing  and  hear  nothing.  The  ghost  then  said, 
'  Go  to  CHfford  Castle,  in  Radnorshire,  take  out 
some  money  which  lies  hidden  there,  and  throw  it 
into  the  river.  Do  this,  I  charge  thee,  or  thou  shalt 
have  no  rest.'  Further  and  more  explicit  directions 
were  then  given,  and  the  unhappy  man  set  out, 
against  his  will,  for  Clifford  Castle,  which  is  the 
castle  in  which  was  born  Fair  Rosamond,  King 
Henry  II.'s  beautiful  favourite.  No  one  but  himself 
was  allowed  to  enter  the  castle,  although  he  was 
permitted  to  have  a  friend's  company  to  the  ruined 
gate  thereof.  It  was  dark  when  they  came  to  the 
castle,  but  he  was  guided  to  the  place  where  the 
money  was,  and  ran  with  it  and  flung  it  into  the 
river.     After  that  he  was  haunted  no  more. 

An  old  house  at  Ty'n-y-Twr,  in  Carnarvonshire, 
was  haunted  by  a  ghost  whose  troubles  were  a 
reversal  of  the  rule.  A  new  tenant,  who  took 
possession  of  the  house  a  few  years  ago,  was  so 
bothered  by  this  spectre  that  he  resolved  to  ques- 
tion it.  He  did  so  and  got  for  answer  the  infor- 
mation that  if  he  would  deposit  a  particular  sum  of 
money  in  a  specified  place,  his  ghostship  would  cease 
to  walk.  The  man  actually  did  this,  and  it  acted 
like  magic.  The  money  disappeared  with  prompti- 
tude, and  the  ghost  came  there  no  more. 

A  man  at  Crumlyn,  Monmouthshire,  was  haunted 
by  a  ghost  whose  trouble  related  to  a  hidden  object 
of  small  value.  Nevertheless  the  spectre  was  so 
importunate  that  the  man  set  out  one  night  to 
accompany  It  to  the  scene  of  perturbation.  In  due 
time  they  came  to  a  huge  stone,  which  the  ghost 
bade  its  friend  lift  up,  who  replied  that  he  had  not 
sufficient  strength,  it  being  a  pretty  large  rock  he 
was  thus  requested  to  move.      '  But  try,'  said  the 


156  British  Goblins. 


ghost.  So  he  tried,  and  lo  !  it  was  lifted  as  if  it  had 
been  a  feather.  He  drew  forth  a  pike,  or  mattock  ; 
*  and  the  Hght,*  the  man  afterwards  related,  '  was  as 
great  as  if  the  sun  shone  ;  and  in  the  snow  there  was 
no  impression  of  the  feet  of  either  of  us.'  They 
went  to  the  river,  and  by  the  ghost's  command  the 
man  threw  the  pike  over  his  head  into  the  water, 
standing  with  his  back  to  the  flood.  The  ghost 
then  conducted  him  home,  and  never  troubled  him 
more.  But  for  a  long  time  after  he  was  out  of  his 
senses. 

This  was  an  illustration,  according  to  the  popular 
belief,  of  the  wickedness  of  hiding  anything,  however 
trifling  its  value — a  practice  strongly  condemned  by 
the  Welsh  peasantry. 

There  is  a  Glamorganshire  story  about  a  certain 
young  man  who,  returning  late  at  night  from 
courting  his  sweetheart,  felt  tired,  and  sitting  down 
fell  asleep.  He  had  not  slept  long  when  he  was 
aroused  by  a  strange  noise,  and  looking  up  recog- 
nised the  ghost  of  his  departed  grandfather. 
Enquiring  the  cause  of  the  old  gentleman's  visit  to 
this  scene  of  trials,  he  got  this  answer  :  '  Under  the 
corner  of  the  thatch  of  your  roof,  look  and  you  will 
find  a  pair  of  silver  spurs,  surreptitiously  obtained 
by  me  when  in  the  flesh,  and  hidden  there.  Throw 
them  into  the  river  Taff,  and  I  shall  be  at  peace.' 
The  young  man  obeyed  these  instructions,  and 
found  the  spurs  accordingly  ;  and  although  many 
persons  were  present  when  he  climbed  to  the 
roof  and  fumbled  under  the  thatch,  and  saw  him  in 
the  very  act,  not  one  among  them  could  see  the 
spurs,  which  were  to  them  invisible.  They  said, 
however,  that  when  the  purloined  spurs  had  been 
thrown  into  the  river,  a  bright  flame  was  seen  to 
flash  along  the  water. 


The  Spirit- World.  157 


A  large  proportion  of  these  stories  of  ghostly 
perturbation  concerning  hidden  treasure  include  ?. 
further  feature  of  great  interest,  relating  to  trans 
portation  through  the  air.  I  have  mentioned  tha. 
ghosts  sometimes  employ  the  services  of  the  fairy 
Boobach  in  thus  carrying  mortals  from  place  to  place. 
The  fairies  of  Wales  are  indeed  frequently  found  to 
be  on  the  best  of  terms  with  the  ghosts.  Their 
races  have  much  in  common,  and  so  many  of  their 
practices  are  alike  that  one  Is  not  always  absolutely 
sure  whether  he  is  dealing  with  a  fairy  or  a  spectre, 
until  some  test-point  crops  up.  However,  in  trans- 
porting a  mortal  through  the  air,  ghost  and  fairy 
work  together.  The  Boobach  being  set  his  task, 
complaisantly  gives  the  mortal  the  choice  of  being 
transported  above  wind,  amid  wind,  or  below  wind. 
The  value  of  knowing  beforehand  what  to  expect, 
was  never  better  illustrated  than  in  this  place.  The 
mortal  who,  with  a  natural  reluctance  to  get  into  an 
unpleasantly  swift  current,  avoids  travelling  mid- 
wind,  misses  a  pleasant  journey,  for  mid-wind  is  the 
only  agreeable  mode  of  being  borne  by  a  Boobach. 
Should  you  choose  to  go  above  wind,  you  are  trans- 
ported so  high  that  you  skim  the  clouds  and  are  in 
danger  of  being  frightened  to  death.  But  choosing 
the  below-wind  course  is  even  worse,  for  then  you 
are  dragged  through  bush,  through  briar,  in  a  way 
to  impress  upon  you  the  advice  of  Apollo  to 
Phaeton,  and  teach  you  the  value  of  the  golden 
mean.    In  medio  hitissimus  ibis, 

VI. 

In  the  parish  of  Ystradgynlals,   in  Breconshire, 
Thomas   Llewellyn,  an  innkeeper's  son,  was  often 


British  Goblins. 


troubled  by  the  spirit  of  a  well-dressed  woman,  who 
used  to  stand  before  him  in  narrow  lanes,  as  if  to  bar 
his  passage,  but  he  always  got  by  her,  though  in 
great  alarm.  One  night  he  mustered  up  courage  to 
speak  to  her,  and  ask  her  what  she  wanted  with  him. 
To  which  she  replied,  '  Be  not  afraid ;  I  will  not 
hurt  thee.'  Then  she  told  him  he  must  go  to 
'  Philadelphia  in  Pennsylvania,'  and  take  a  box  from 
a  house  there,  (which  she  described,)  in  which  there 
was  a  sum  of  200/.  But  as  he  did  not  know  how  to 
go  to  that  far-off  place,  he  said  as  much.  '  Meet  me 
here  next  Friday  night,'  said  the  phantom  ;  *  meet 
me,  I  charge  thee.'  She  then  vanished.  The  young 
man  went  home  and  told  this  story  to  his  neigh- 
bours and  friends.  They  held  a  consultation  with 
the  curate  of  the  parish,  who  promptly  appointed  a' 
prayer-meeting  for  that  Friday  night,  to  which  the 
young  man  was  bidden,  and  by  which  it  was  hoped 
the  purpose  of  the  ghost  to  spirit  him  off  to  Phila- 
delphia might  be  circumvented.  The  meeting  con- 
tinued until  midnight,  and  when  it  broke  up  the 
young  man's  friends  stayed  with  him  ;  but  they  had 
no  sooner  got  beyond  the  parson's  stables  than  he 
was  taken  from  among  them.  His  subsequent 
adventures  are  thus  related  by  himself :  '  The  appari- 
tion carried  me  away  to  a  river,  and  threw  me  into 
it,  chiding  me  for  telling  the  people  of  our  appointed 
meeting  and  for  not  coming  to  meet  her  as  she  had 
charged  me ;  but  bade  me  be  not  afraid,  that  she 
would  not  hurt  me,  because  she  had  not  charged  me 
to  be  silent  on  the  subject ;  nevertheless  I  had  done 
wrong  to  go  to  the  parson's  house.  Now,  said  she, 
we  begin  the  journey.  I  was  then  lifted  up  and 
carried  away  I  know  not  how.  When  I  came  to  the 
place,'  (in  Philadelphia,)  '  I  was  taken  into  a  house, 
and  conducted  to  a  fine  room.    The  spirit  then  bade 


The  Spirit- World.  159 

me  lift  up  a  board,  which  I  did.  I  then  saw  the  box, 
and  took  it.  Then  the  spirit  said  I  must  go  three 
miles  and  cast  it  into  the  black  sea.  We  went,  as  I 
thought,  to  a  lake  of  clear  water,  where  I  was 
commanded  to  throw  the  box  into  it ;  which  when  I 
did  there  was  such  a  noise  as  if  all  about  was  going 
to  pieces.  From  thence  I  was  taken  up  and  carried 
to  the  place  where  I  was  first  taken  up.  I  then 
asked  her.  Am  I  free  now  ?  She  said  I  was ;  and 
then  she  told  me  a  secret,  which  she  strictly  charged 
me  to  tell  no  person.'  Extensive  and  ingenious 
guessing  was  indulged  in  by  all  Ystradgynlais,  as  to 
what  this  secret  might  be  ;  and  one  woman  made 
herself  popular  by  remembering  that  there  was  a 
certain  Elizabeth  Gething  in  other  days  who  had 
gone  from  this  neighbourhood  to  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  conclusion  was  eagerly  arrived  at,  that  this  was 
the  woman  whose  phantom  the  young  man  saw,  and 
that  the  secret  she  told  him  was  her  name  when 
alive.  They  questioned  him  as  to  her  appearance, 
and  he  said  she  was  largely  made,  very  pale,  her 
looks  severe,  and  her  voice  hollow,  different  from  a 
human  voice.  This  was  considered  by  the  Ystrad- 
gynlaisians,  with  many  nods  to  each  other,  as  a  most 
accurate  description  of  what  Elizabeth  Gething  would 
probably  be,  after  having  shuffled  off  this  mortal  coil. 
The  time  occupied  in  this  mysterious  transportation 
and  ghostly  enterprise  was  three  days  and  three 
nights  ;  that  is,  from  Friday  night  to  Monday  night ; 
and  when  the  voyager  came  home  he  could  scarcely 
speak. 

VII. 

Sir  David  Llwyd,  the  Welsh  magician,  was  once 
at  Lanidloes  town,  in  Montgomeryshire,  and  as  he 
was  going  home  late  at  night,  saw  a  boy  there  from 
his  neighbourhood.     He  asked  the  lad  if  he  would 


i6o  British  Goblins, 


like  to  ride  home  behind  him,  and  receiving  an 
affirmative  reply,  took  the  boy  up  behind  on  the 
horse's  back.  They  rode  so  swiftly  that  they  were 
home  in  no  time,  and  the  boy  lost  one  of  his  garters 
in  the  journey.  The  next  day,  seeing  something 
hanging  in  the  ash-tree  near  the  church,  he  climbed 
up  to  learn  what  it  was,  and  to  his  great  surprise 
found  it  was  the  garter  he  had  lost.  *  Which  shows 
they  rode  home  in  the  air,'  observes  the  Prophet 
Jones  in  telling  the  story.  Mr.  Jones  has  a  number 
of  extraordinary  narratives  of  this  class — e.g.,  the 
following,  which  I  condense : 

Henry  Edmund,  of  Hafodafel,  was  one  night 
visiting  Charles  Hugh,  the  conjuror  of  Aberystruth, 
and  they  walked  together  as  far  as  Lanhiddel,  where 
Hugh  tried  to  persuade  his  companion  to  stay  all 
night  with  him  at  a  public  house.  Edmund  refused, 
and  said  he  would  go  home.  '  You  had  better  stay,' 
said  Hugh  in  a  meaning  tone.  But  Edmund  went 
out  into  the  street,  when  he  was  seized  by  invisible 
hands  and  borne  through  the  air  to  Landovery,  in 
Carmarthenshire,  a  distance  of  fully  fifty  miles  as 
the  crow  flies.  There  he  was  set  down  at  a  public 
house  where  he  had  before  been,  and  talked  with 
people  who  knew  him.  He  then  went  out  into  the 
street,  when  he  was  seized  again  and  borne  back  to 
Lanhiddel,  arriving  there  the  next  morning  at  day- 
break. The  first  man  he  met  was  the  conjuror 
Charles  Hugh,  who  said,  *  Did  I  not  tell  you  you 
had  better  stay  with  me  ?  ' 

The  landlord  of  the  inn  at  Langattock  Crickhowel]^^ 
in  Breconshire,  was  a  man  called  Richard  the  Tailor. 
He  was  more  than  suspected  of  resorting  to   the 
company  of  fairies,  and  of  practising  infernal  arts. 


The  Spirit-World.  i6i 

One  day  a  company  of  gentlemen  were  hunting  in 
that  vicinity,  when  the  hounds  started  a  hare,  which 
ran  so  long  and  so  hard  that  everybody  was  pros- 
trated with  fatigue  ;  and  this  hare  disappeared  from 
view  at  the  cellar  window  of  the  inn  kept  by  Richard 
the   Tailor.     The   circumstance   begat   a   suspicion 
among   the  hunters   that   the   hare   which    had   so 
bothered   them  was  none  other   than  Richard  the 
Tailor  himself,  and  that  his  purpose  in  taking  that 
form  had  been  to  lead  them  a  dance  and  bring  them 
to  the  door  of  his  inn  at  an  hour  too  late  for  them 
to  return  home,  thus  compelling  them  to  spend  their 
money  there.     They  stayed,    however,   being  very 
tired.     But  they  growled  very  hard  at  their  landlord 
and  were  perfectly  free  with  their  comments  on  his 
base  conduct.     One  of  their  party,  having  occasion 
to  go  out-doors  during  the  evening,   did  not  come 
back  ;  his  name  was  Walter  Jones,  and  he  was  well 
known  in  that  part  of  the  country.     The  company 
became  uneasy  at  his  absence,  and  began  to  abuse 
the  landlord  roundly,  threatening  to  burn  the  house 
if  Walter  Jones  did  not   return.     Notwithstanding 
their  threats,  Walter  Jones  came  not  back  all  night. 
Late   the  next  morning  he   made   his  appearance, 
looking  like  one  who  had  been  drawn  through  thorns 
and  briars,  with  his  hair  in  disorder,  and  his  whole 
aspect   terribly  demoralised.     His   story  was   soon 
told.     He  had  no  sooner  got  out-doors  than  invisible 
hands  had  whisked  him  up,  and  whirled  him  along 
rough  ways  until  daybreak,  when  he  found  himself 
near  by  the  town  of  Newport,  helping  a  man  from 
Risca   to   raise    a    load   of    coal    upon   his    horse. 
Suddenly  he  became  insensible,  and  was  whisked 
back  again  to  the  inn  where  they  now  saw  him. 
The  distance  he  traversed  in  going  to  and  fro  was 
about   forty  miles.     And  Walter   Jones,   who   had 


1 62  British  Goblins. 


hitherto   been  an  ungodly  man,  mended  his  ways 
from  that  time  forth. 

IX. 

There  are  many  points  in  all  these  traditional 
stories  which  are  suggestive  of  interesting  com- 
parisons, and  constantly  remind  us  of  the  significance 
of  details  which,  at  first  sight,  seem  trivial.  The 
supposed  adoption  of  the  hare  form  by  the  tailor 
recalls  a  host  of  mythological  details.  The  hare 
has  been  identified  with  the  sun-god  Michabo  of  the 
American  Indians,  who  sleeps  through  the  winter 
months,  and  symbolises  the  sleep  of  nature  precisely 
as  in  the  fairy  myth  of  the  Sleeping  Maiden,  and 
the  Welsh  legends  of  Sleeping  Heroes.  Among 
the  Hottentots,  the  hare  figures  as  the  servant  of 
the  moon.  In  China,  the  hare  is  viewed  as  a 
telluric  genius  in  one  province,  and  everywhere  as 
a  divine  animal.  In  Wales,  one  of  the  most 
charming  of  the  local  legends  relates  how  a  hare 
flying  from  the  hounds  took  refuge  under  a  fair  saint's 
robes,  so  that  hares  were  ever  after  called  Mona- 
cella's  Lambs  in  that  parish.  Up  to  a  comparatively 
recent  time,  no  person  in  the  parish  would  kill  a 
hare.  When  a  hare  was  pursued  by  dogs,  it  was 
firmly  believed  that  if  any  one  cried,  '  God  and  St. 
Monacella  be  with  thee,'  it  was  sure  to  escape.  The 
legend  is  related  by  Pennant,  in  his  tour  through 
Montgomeryshire :  *  At  about  two  miles  distant 
from  Llangynog,  I  turned  up  a  small  valley  to  the 
right,  to  pay  my  devotions  to  the  shrine  of  St. 
Monacella,  or,  as  the  Welsh  style  her,  Melangell.  .  .  . 
She  was  the  daughter  of  an  Irish  monarch,  who 
had  determined  to  marry  her  to  a  nobleman  of  his 
court.  The  princess  had  vowed  celibacy.  She  fled 
from  her  father's  dominions,  and  took  refuge  in  this 
place,  where  she  lived  fifteen  years  without  seeing 


The  Spirit-World.  163 

the  face  of  man.  Brochwel  Yscythrog,  prince  of 
Powys,  being  one  day  a  hare-hunting,  pursued  his 
game  till  he  came  to  a  great  thicket ;  when  he  was 
amazed  to  find  a  virgin  of  surprising  beauty  engaged 
in  deep  devotion,  with  the  hare  he  had  been  pur- 
suing under  her  robe,  boldly  facing  the  dogs,  who 
retired  to  a  distance,  howling,  notwithstanding  all 
the  efforts  of  the  sportsmen  to  make  them  seize  their 
prey.  When  the  huntsman  blew  his  horn,  it  stuck 
to  his  lips.  Brochwel  heard  her  story,  and  gave 
to  God  and  her  a  parcel  of  lands  to  be  a  sanctuary 
to  all  who  fled  there.  He  desired  her  to  found  an 
abbey  on  the  spot.  She  did  so,  and  died  abbess  of 
it,  in  a  good  old  age.  She  was  buried  in  the  neigh- 
bouring church.  ...  Her  hard  bed  is  shown  in  the 
cleft  of  a  neighbouring  rock.  Her  tomb  was  in  a 
little  chapel,  or  oratory,  adjoining  to  the  church 
and  now  used  as  a  vestry-room.  This  room  is  still 
called  cell  y  bedd,  (cell  of  the  grave).  .  .  .  The 
legend  is  perpetuated  by  some  rude  wooden  carvings 
of  the  saint,  with  numbers  of  hares  scuttling  to  her 
for  protection.' 

X. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe,  in  connection  with 
the  subject  of  transportation  through  the  air,  with 
what  vitality  this  superstition  lingers  in  modern 
spiritualism.  The  accounts  of  such  transportation 
are  familiar  to  every  reader  of  newspapers.  That 
Mr.  Home  was  seen,  by  a  learned  English  noble- 
man, sailing  through  the  moonlight  seventy  feet  from 
the  ground,  is  on  record  ;  that  Mrs.  Guppy  was 
transported  from  Highbury  Park  to  Lamb's  Conduit 
Street,  in  London,  in  a  trance  and  a  state  of  partial 
dishabille^  is  also  on  record  ;  and  that  a  well-known 
American  spiritualist  was  borne  by  invisible  hands 
from  Chicago  to  Milwaukee  and  back,  between  mid- 

M 


164  British  Goblins. 


night  and  4  a.m.,  I  have  been  assured  by  a  number 
of  persons  in  Illinois  who  thoroughly  believed  it,  or 
said  they  did.  But  it  certainly  is  not  too  much 
to  demand,  that  people  who  give  credence  to  these 
instances  of  aerial  transportation  should  equally  be- 
lieve in  the  good  old  ghost  stories  of  the  Welsh. 
The  same  consistency  calls  for  credulity  as  to  the 
demoniacal  elevation  of  Simon  Magus,  and  the 
broomstick  riding  of  the  witches  whose  supernatural 
levitation  was  credited  by  Lord  Bacon  and  Sir 
Matthew  Hale,  not  to  speak  of  Addison  and 
Wesley. 

There  is  something  peculiarly  fascinating  to  the 
gross  denizens  of  earth  in  this  notion  of  skimming 
like  a  bird  over  house-tops.  No  dreams,  save  those 
of  love  and  dalliance,  are  so  charming  to  the  dreamer 
as  visions  of  flying  ;  to  find  oneself  floating  along 
over  the  tops  of  trees,  over  the  streets  where  less 
favoured  mortals  walk,  to  look  down  on  them  as 
they  stroll,  is  to  feel  an  exquisite  pleasure.  The 
mind  of  childhood  and  that  of  ignorance,  alike 
unable  to  discriminate  between  reality  and  illusion, 
would  naturally  retain  the  impression  of  such  a 
dream  with  peculiar  vividness.  The  superstition 
has  no  doubt  been  fostered  by  this  fact,  although  it, 
like  most  superstitions,  began  its  career  in  pre-historic 
days.  The  same  class  of  belief  attaches  to  the 
magical  lore  of  widely  separated  lands,  in  all  ages. 
The  magic  carpet  of  the  Arabian  Nights  finds  its 
parallel  to-day  in  the  enchanted  mat  of  the  Chinese 
conjuror,  which  carries  him  from  place  to  place,  at  a 
height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in  the  air.  The 
levitation  involved  is  in  Welsh  story  embodied  in 
the  person  of  Sgilti  Yscawndroed ;  when  he  was 
sent  on  a  message  through  the  wood  he  went  along 
the  tops  of  the  trees ;   in  his  whole  life,  a  blade  of 


The  Spirit-World.  165 

reed  grass  never  bent  beneath  his  feet,  so  Hght  was 
his  tread/ 

XL 

It  remains  but  to  add,  in  connection  with  our 
household  ghosts,  that  the  method  of  exorcising  such 
gobhns  in  Wales  is  explicit.  The  objectionable 
spectre  must  be  conjured,  in  the  name  of  Heaven,  to 
depart,  and  return  no  more.  Not  always  is  this 
exorcism  effective ;  the  ghost  may  have  a  specific 
purpose  in  hand,  or  it  may  be  obstinate.  The 
strength  of  the  exorcism  is  doubled  by  employing 
the  Latin  language  to  deliver  it ;  it  receives  its 
utmost  power,  however,  through  the  clergy  ;  three 
clergymen,  it  is  thought,  will  exorcise  any  ghost  that 
walks.  The  exorcism  is  usually  for  a  stated  period  ; 
seven  years  is  the  favourite  time  ;  one  hundred  years 
the  limit.  There  are  many  instances  where  a  ghost 
which  had  been  laid  a  hundred  years  returned  at  the 
end  of  the  time  to  its  old  haunts.  In  all  cases  it  is 
necessary  the  ghost  should  agree  to  be  exorcised  ; 
no  power  can  lay  it  if  it  be  possessed  of  an  evil 
demon — a  spirit  within  a  spirit,  as  it  were — which 
stubbornly  refuses  to  listen  to  argument.  In  such 
cases  the  terrors  of  Heaven  must  be  rigorously  in- 
voked ;  but  the  result  is  only  temporary.  Properly 
constituted  family  ghosts,  however,  will  lend  a  rea- 
sonable ear  to  entreaty,  backed  by  prayer.  There 
are  even  cases  on  record  where  the  ghost  has  been 
the  entreater,  as  in  the  story  of  Haunted  Margaret. 

Haunted  Margaret,  or  Marget  yr  Yspryd,  was  a 
servant-girl  who  lived  in  the  parish  of  Panteg.  She 
had  been  seduced  by  a  man  who  promised  to  marry 
her,  and  a  day  was  set  for  their  wedding  ;  but  when 
the  day  came,  the  man  was  not  on  hand,  and  Mar- 
garet thereupon  fell  on  her  knees  in  the  church  and 

^  Lady  Charlotte  Guest's  '  Mabinogion,'  225. 

M    2 


i66 


British  Goblins, 


prayed  Heaven  that  her  seducer  might  have  no  rest 
either  in  this  world  or  in  the  world  to  come.  In 
due  course  the  man  died,  and  immediately  his  ghost 
came  to  haunt  Margaret  Richard.  People  heard 
her  in  the  night  saying  to  the  ghost,  *  What  dost 
thou  want  ? '  or  *  Be  quiet,  let  me  alone  ;'  and  hence 
it  was  that  she  came  to  be  known  in  that  parish  by 
the  nickname  of  Marget  yr  Yspryd.  One  evening 
when  the  haunted  woman  was  at  the  house  of  Mrs. 
Hercules  Jenkins,  at  Trosdra,  she  began  to  be 
uneasy,  and  as  it  grew  late  said,  *  I  must  go  now,  or 
else  I  shall  be  sure  to  meet  him  on  the  way  home/ 
Mrs.  Jenkins  advised  Margaret  to  speak  to  him  ; 
*  and  tell  him  thou  dost  forgive  him,'  said  the  good 
dame.  Margaret  went  her  way,  and  as  she  drew 
near  a  stile  at  the  end  of  a  foot-bridge,  she  saw  the 
ghost  at  the  stile  waiting  for  her.  When  she  came 
up  to  it  the  ghost  said,  '  Do  thou  forgive  me,  and 
God  will  forgive  thee.  Forgive  me  and  I  shall  be 
at  rest,  and  never  trouble  thee  any  more.'  Margaret 
then  forgave  him,  and  he  shook  hands  with  her  in  a 
friendly  way,  and  vanished. 


(     i67     ) 


CHAPTER  III. 

Spectral  Animals— The  Chained  Spirit — The  Gwyllgi,  or  Dog  of  Dark- 
ness— The  Legend  of  Lisworney-Crossways — The  Gwyllgi  of  the 
Devil's  Nags — The  Dog  of  Pant  y  Madog — Terrors  of  the  Brute 
Creation  at  Phantoms — Apparitions  of  Natural  Objects — Phantom 
Ships  and  Phantom  Islands. 

I. 

Of  spectral  animals  there  is  no  great  diversity  in 
Cambria,  unless  one  should  class  under  this  head 
sundry  poetic  creatures  which  more  properly  belong 
to  the  domain  of  magic,  or  to  fairyland.  The  spirits 
of  favourite  animals  which  have  died  return  occasion- 
ally to  visit  their  masters.  Sometimes  it  is  a  horse, 
which  Is  seen  on  a  dark  night  looking  in  at  the 
window,  its  eyes  preternaturally  large.  More  often 
it  is  the  ghost  of  a  dog  which  revisits  the  glimpses 
of  the  moon.  Men  sometimes  become  as  fondly 
attached  to  a  dog  as  they  could  to  any  human  being, 
and,  where  the  creed  of  piety  Is  not  too  severe,  the 
possibility  of  a  dog's  surviving  after  death  in  a  better 
world  is  admitted.  *  It  is  hard  to  look  in  that  dog's 
eyes  and  believe,'  said  a  Welshman  to  me,  *  that  he 
has  not  a  bit  of  a  soul  to  be  saved.'  The  almost 
human  companionship  of  the  dog  for  man  is  a 
familiar  fact.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  the 
dog  should  be  the  animal  whose  spirit,  in  popular 
belief,  shares  the  nature  of  man's  after  death. 

II. 

Sometimes  the  spirit  in  animal  form  Is  the  spirit 
of  a  mortal,  doomed  to  wear  this  shape  for  some 


1 68  British  Goblins. 


offence.  This  again  trenches  on  the  ground  of 
magic ;  but  the  ascription  to  the  spirit-world  is 
distinct  in  modern  instances.  There  was  a  Rev. 
Mr.-  Hughes,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England, 
in  the  isle  and  county  of  Anglesea,  who  was  esteemed 
the  most  popular  preacher  thereabout  in  the  last 
century,  and  upon  this  account  was  envied  by  the 
rest  of  the  clergy,  *  which  occasioned  his  becoming 
a  field  preacher  for  a  time,  though  he  was  received 
into  the  Church  again.' ^  As  he  was  going  one  night 
to  preach,  he  came  upon  an  artificial  circle  in  the 
ground,  between  Amlwch  village  and  St.  Elian 
Church,  where  a  spirit  in  the  shape  of  a  large  grey- 
hound jumped  against  him  and  threw  him  from 
his  horse.  This  experience  was  repeated  on  a 
second  night.  The  third  night  he  went  on  foot,  and 
warily  ;  and  now  he  saw  that  the  spirit  was  chained. 
He  drew  near,  but  keeping  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  chain,  and  questioned  the  spirit :  *  Why  troublest 
thou  those  that  pass  by  ? '  The  spirit  replied  that 
its  unrest  was  due  to  a  silver  groat  it  had  hidden 
under  a  stone  when  in  the  flesh,  and  which  belonged 
to  the  church  of  St.  Elian.  The  clergyman  being 
told  where  the  groat  was,  found  it  and  paid  it  over 
o  the  church,  and  the  chained  spirit  was  released. 

III. 

In  the  Gwyllgi,  or  Dog  of  Darkness,  is  seen  a 
spirit  of  terrible  form,  well  known  to  students  of 
folk-lore.  This  is  a  frightful  apparition  of  a  mastiff, 
with  a  baleful  breath  and  blazing  red  eyes  which 
shine  like  fire  in  the  night.  It  is  huge  in  size,  and 
reminds  us  of  the  '  shaggy  mastiff  larger  than  a 
steed  nine  winters  old,'  which  guarded  the  sheep 
before    the   castle   of  Yspaddaden   Pencawr.     *  All 

*  Jones,  '  Apparitions.' 


The  Spirit- World.  169 

the  dead  trees  and  bushes  in  the  plain  he  burnt  with 
his  breath  down  to  the  very  ground.'^  The  lane 
leading  from  Mousiad  to  Lis worney-Cross ways,  is 
reported  to  have  been  haunted  by  a  Gwyllgi  of  the 
most  terrible  aspect.  Mr.  Jenkin,  a  worthy  farmer 
living  near  there,  was  one  night  returning  home 
from  market  on  a  young  mare,  when  suddenly  the 
animal  shied,  reared,  tumbled  the  farmer  off,  and 
bolted  for  home.  Old  Anthony  the  farm-servant, 
found  her  standing  trembling  by  the  barn-door, 
and  well  knowing  the  lane  she  had  come  through 
suspected  she  had  seen  the  Gwyllgi.  He  and  the 
other  servants  of  the  farm  all  went  down  the  road, 
and  there  in  the  haunted  lane  they  found  the 
farmer,  on  his  back  in  the  mud.  Being  questioned, 
the  farmer  protested  it  was  the  Gwyllgi  and  nothing 
less,  that  had  made  all  this  trouble,  and  his  nerves 
were  so  shaken  by  the  shock  that  he  had  to  be 
supported  on  either  side  to  get  him  home,  slipping 
and  staggering  in  the  mud  in  truly  dreadful  fashion 
all  the  way.  It  is  the  usual  experience  of  people 
who  meet  the  Gwyllgi  that  they  are  so  overcome  with 
terror  by  its  unearthly  howl,  or  by  the  glare  of  its 
fiery  eyes,  that  they  fall  senseless.  Old  Anthony, 
however,  used  to  say  that  he  had  met  the  Gwyllgi 
without  this  result.  As  he  was  coming  home  from 
courting  a  young  woman  of  his  acquaintance  (name 
delicately  withheld,  as  he  did  not  marry  her)  late 
one  Sunday  night — or  it  may  have  been  Monday 
morning — he  encountered  in  the  haunted  lane  two 
large  shining  eyes,  which  drew  nearer  and  nearer 
to  him.  He  was  dimly  able  to  discern,  in  con- 
nection with  the  gleaming  eyes,  what  seemed  a 
form  of  human  shape  above,  but  with  the  body  and 
limbs  of  a  large  spotted  dog.     He  threw  his  hat 

^  *  Mabinogion,'  230. 


170  British  Goblins. 


« 


at  the  terrible  eyes,  and  the  hat  went  whisking  right 
through  them,  falhng  in  the  road  beyond.  However, 
the  spectre  disappeared,  and  the  brave  Anthony 
hurried  home  as  fast  as  his  shaking  legs  would 
carry  him. 

As  Mr.  David  Walter,  of  Pembrokeshire,  '  a 
religious  man,  and  far  from  fear  and  superstition,' 
was  travelling  by  himself  through  a  field  called  the 
Cot  Moor,  where  there  are  two  stones  set  up  called 
the  Devil's  Nags,  which  are  said  to  be  haunted,  he 
was  suddenly  seized  and  thrown  over  a  hedge.  He 
went  there  another  day,  taking  with  him  for  protec- 
tion a  strong  fighting  mastiff  dog.  When  he  had 
come  near  the  Devil's  Nags  there  appeared  in  his 
path  the  apparition  of  a  dog  more  terrible  than  any 
he  had  ever  seen.  In  vain  he  tried  to  set  his 
mastiff  on  ;  the  huge  beast  crouched  frightened  by 
his  master's  feet  and  refused  to  attack  the  spectre. 
Whereupon  his  master  boldly  stooped  to  pick  up  a 
stone,  thinking  that  would  frighten  the  evil  dog  ; 
but  suddenly  a  circle  of  fire  surrounded  it,  which 
lighting  up  the  gloom,  showed  the  white  snip  down 
the  dog's  nose,  and  his  grinning  teeth,  and  white 
tail.  '  He  then  knew  it  was  one  of  the  infernal 
dogs  of  hell.'  ^ 

Rebecca  Adams  was  *  a  woman  who  appeared  to 
be  a  true  living  experimental  Christian,  beyond 
many,'  and  she  lived  near  Laugharne  Castle,  in  Car- 
marthenshire. One  evening  when  she  was  going 
to  Laugharne  town  on  some  business,  her  mother 
dissuaded  her  from  going,  telling  her  she  would  be 
benighted,  and  might  be  terrified  by  some  appari- 
tion at  Pant  y  Madog.  This  was  a  pit  by  the  side 
of  the  lane  leading  to  Laugharne,  which  was  never 
known  to  be  dry,  and  which  was  haunted,  as  many 

^  Jones,  '  Apparitions.' 


The  Spirit-World.  171 

had  both  seen  and  heard  apparitions  there.  But 
the  bold  Rebecca  was  not  to  be  frighted  at  such 
nonsense,  and  went  her  way.  It  was  rather  dark 
when  she  was  returning,  and  she  had  passed  by 
the  haunted  pit  of  Pant  y  Madog,  and  was  con- 
gratulating herself  on  having  seen  no  ghost.  Sud- 
denly she  saw  a  great  dog  coming  towards  her. 
When  within  about  four  or  five  yards  of  her  it 
stopped,  squatted  on  its  haunches,  '  and  set  up 
such  a  scream,  so  loud,  so  horrible,  and  so  strong, 
that  she  thought  the  earth  moved  under  her.'  Then 
she  fell  down  in  a  swoon.  When  she  revived  it 
was  gone ;  and  it  was  past  midnight  when  she 
got  home,  weak  and  exhausted. 

IV. 

Much  stress  is  usually  laid,  in  accounts  of  the 
Gwyllgi,  on  the  terror  with  which  it  inspires  domestic 
animals.  This  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the  brute 
creation  to  detect  the  presence  of  a  spirit,  is  a 
common  superstition  everywhere.  An  American 
journal  lately  gave  an  account  of  an  apparition  seen 
in  Indiana,  whose  ghostly  character  was  considered 
by  the  witnesses  to  be  proven  by  the  terror  of 
horses  which  saw  it.  They  were  drawing  the 
carriage  in  which  drove  the  persons  to  whom  the 
ghost  appeared,  and  they  shied  from  the  road  at 
sight  of  it,  becoming  unmanageable.  The  spectre 
soon  dissolved  in  thin  air  and  vanished,  when  the 
horses  instantly  became  tractable.  In  Wales  it  is 
thought  that  horses  have  peculiarly  this  '  gift '  of 
seeing  spectres.  Carriage  horses  have  been  known 
to  display  every  sign  of  the  utmost  terror,  when 
the  occupants  of  the  carriage  could  see  no  cause 
for  fright ;  and  in  such  cases  a  funeral  is  expected 
to  pass  there  before  long,  bearing  to  his  grave  some 


172  British  Goblins. 


person  not  dead  at  the  time  of  the  horses'  fright. 
These  phenomena  are  certainly  extremely  interest- 
ing, and  well  calculated  to  'bid  us  pause,'  though 
not,  perhaps,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  whether 
a  horse's  eye  can  receive  an  image  which  the  human 
retina  fails  to  accept.  Much  weight  will  not  be 
given  to  the  fright  of  the  lower  animals,  I  fear,  by 
any  thoughtful  person  who  has  witnessed  the  terror 
of  a  horse  at  sight  of  a  flapping  shirt  on  a  clothes- 
line, or  that  hideous  monster  a  railway  engine. 
Andrew  Jackson  Davis  has  a  theory  that  we  all 
bear  about  us  an  atmosphere,  pleasing  or  re- 
pulsive, which  can  be  detected  by  horses,  dogs, 
and  spiritual  *  mediums ;'  this  aura,  being  spiritual, 
surrounds  us  without  our  will  or  wish,  goes  where 
we  go,  but  does  not  die  when  we  die,  and  is  the 
means  by  which  a  bloodhound  tracks  a  slave,  or  a 
fond  dog  finds  its  master.  Without  denying  the 
possibility  of  this  theory,  I  must  record  that  in  my 
observation  a  dog  has  been  found  to  smell  his 
master  most  successfully  when  that  master  was 
most  in  need  of  a  bath  and  a  change  of  linen. 
Also,  that  when  the  master  leaves  off  his  coat  he 
clearly  leaves — if  a  dog's  conduct  be  evidence — a 
part  of  his  aura  with  it.  More  worthy  of  serious 
attention  is  August  Comte's  suggestion  that  dogs 
and  some  other  animals  are  perhaps  capable  of 
forming  fetlchistic  notions.  That  dogs  accredit  in- 
animate objects  with  volition,  to  a  certain  extent,  I 
am  quite  convinced.  The  thing  which  constitutes 
knowledge,  in  dogs  as  in  human  beings — that  is  to 
say,  thought,  organised  by  experience — corrects  this 
tendency  in  animals  as  they  grow  older,  precisely  as' 
it  corrects  the  false  conclusions  of  children,  though 
never  to  the  same  extent.  That  a  dog  can  think,  I 
suppose  no  well-informed  person  doubts  in  these  days. 


The  Spirit-World.  173 

V. 

The  Gwyllgi  finds  its  counterpart  in  the  Mauthe 
Doog  of  the  Isle  of  Man  and  the  Shock  of  the 
Norfolk  coast.  It  there  comes  up  out  of  the  sea 
and  travels  about  in  the  lanes  at  night.  To  meet  it 
is  a  sign  of  trouble  and  death.  The  Gwyllgi  also  is 
confined  to  sea-coast  parishes  mainly,  and  although 
not  classed  among  death-omens,  to  look  on  it  is 
deemed  dangerous.  The  hunting  dogs,  Cwn  Annwn, 
or  dogs  of  hell,  whose  habitat  is  the  sky  overhead, 
have  also  other  attributes  which  distinguish  them 
clearly  from  the  Gwyllgi.  They  are  death-omens, 
ancient  of  lineage  and  still  encountered.  The 
Gwyllgi,  while  suggesting  some  interesting  com- 
parisons with  the  old  mythology,  appears  to  have 
lost  vogue  since  smuggling  ceased  to  be  profitable. 

VI. 

Confined  to  the  coast,  too,  are  those  stories  of 
phantom  ships  and  phantom  islands  which,  too 
familiar  to  merit  illustration  here,  have  their  origin 
in  the  mirage.  That  they  also  touch  the  ancient 
mythology  is  undoubted  ;  but  their  source  in  the 
mirage  is  probably  true  of  the  primeval  belief  as  well 
as  of  the  medieval,  and  that  of  our  time.  The 
Chinese  also  have  the  mirage,  but  not  its  scientific 
explanation,  and  hence  of  course  their  belief  in  its 
supernatural  character  is  undisturbed. 


British  Goblins, 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Grotesque  Ghosts — The  Phantom  Horseman — Gigantic  Spirits — The 
Black  Ghost  of  Ffynon  yr  Yspryd — Black  Men  in  the  Mabinogion 
— Whirling  Ghosts — Antic  Spirits — The  Tridoll  Valley  Ghost — 
Resemblance  to  Modern  Spiritualistic  Performances — Household 
Fairies. 

I. 

The  grotesque  ghosts  of  Welsh  folk-lore  are  often 
most  diverting  acquaintances.  They  are  ghosts  on 
horseback,  or  with  coloured  faces,  or  of  huge  and 
monstrous  form  ;  or  they  indulge  in  strange  gym- 
nastics, in  whirling,  throwing  stones,  or  whistling. 
A  phantom  horseman,  encountered  by  the  Rev.  John 
Jones,  of  Holywell,  in  Flintshire,  as  described  by 
himself,  is. worthy  of  Heinrich  Zschokke.  This 
Mr.  Jones  was  a  preacher  of  extraordinary  power, 
renowned  and  respected  throughout  Wales.  He 
was  one  day  travelling  alone  on  horseback  from 
Bala,  in  Merionethshire,  to  Machynlleth,  Mont- 
gomeryshire, and  as  he  approached  a  forest  which 
lay  in  his  way  he  was  dogged  by  a  murderous- 
looking  man  carrying  a  sharp  sickle.  The  minister 
felt  sure  this  man  meditated  an  attack  on  his  life, 
from  his  conduct  in  running  crouched  along  behind 
hedges,  and  from  his  having  met  the  man  at  the 
village  inn  of  Llanuwchllyn,  wheVe  the  minister  ex- 
posed his  watch  and  purse.  Presently  he  saw  the 
man  conceal  himself  at  a  place  where  the  hedge  was 
thick,  and  where  a  gate  crossed  the  road  ;  and  feeling 
sure  that  here  he  should  be  attacked,  he  stopped  his 
horse  to  reflect  on  the  situation.     No  house  was  in 


The  Spirit-World.  175 


sight,  and  the  road  was  hidden  by  high  hedges  on 
either  side.  Should  he  turn  back  ?  *  In  despair, 
rather  than  in  a  spirit  of  humble  trust  and  con- 
fidence,' says  the  good  man,  *  I  bowed  my  head, 
and  offered  up  a  silent  prayer.  At  this  juncture  my 
horse,  growing  impatient  of  the  delay,  started  off.  I 
clutched  the  reins,  which  I  had  let  fall  on  his  neck, 
when,  happening  to  turn  my  eyes,  I  saw,  to  my  utter 
astonishment,  that  I  was  no  longer  alone :  there,  by 
my  side,  I  beheld  a  horseman  in  a  dark  dress, 
mounted  on  a  white  steed.  In  intense  amazement 
I  gazed  upon  him.  Where  could  he  have  come 
from  ?  He  appeared  as  suddenly  as  if  he  had  sprung 
from  the  earth ;  he  must  have  been  riding  behind 
and  have  overtaken  me,  and  yet  I  had  not  heard 
the  slightest  sound.  It  was  mysterious,  inexplicable  ; 
but  joy  overcame  my  feelings  of  wonder,  and  I  began 
at  once  to  address  my  companion.  I  asked  him  if 
he  had  seen  any  one,  and  then  described  to  him 
what  had  taken  place,  and  how  relieved  I  felt  by 
his  sudden  appearance.  He  made  no  reply,  and  on 
looking  at  his  face  he  seemed  paying  but  slight 
attention  to  my  words,  but  continued  intently  gazing 
in  the  direction  of  the  gate,  now  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  ahead.  I  followed  his  gaze,  and  saw  the  reaper 
emerge  from  his  concealment  and  run  across  a  field 
to  our  left,  resheathing  his  sickle  as  he  hurried  along. 
He  had  evidently  seen  that  I  was  no  longer  alone, 
and  had  relinquished  his  intended  attempt.'  Seek- 
ing to  converse  with  the  mysterious  horseman,  the 
minister  found  the  phantom  was  speechless.  In  vain 
he  addressed  it  in  both  Welsh  and  English ;  not  a 
word  did  it  utter,  save  that  once  the  minister  thought 
it  said  '  Amen,'  to  a  pious  remark.  Suddenly  it  was 
gone.  *  The  mysterious  horseman  was  gone ;  he 
was  not  to  be  seen ;  he  had  disappeared  as  myste- 


176  BriitsJi  Gvotms. 


riously  as  he  had  come.  What  could  have  become 
of  him  ?  He  could  not  have  gone  through  the  gate, 
nor  have  made  his  horse  leap  the  high  hedges,  which 
on  both  sides  shut  in  the  road.  Where  was  he  ?  had 
I  been  dreaming  ?  was  it  an  apparition — a  spectre, 
which  had  been  riding  by  my  side  for  the  last  ten 
minutes  ?  was  it  but  a  creature  of  my  imagination  ? 
I  tried  hard  to  convince  myself  that  this  was  the 
case ;  but  why  had  the  reaper  resheathed  his  mur- 
derous-looking sickle  and  fled  ?  And  then  a  feeling 
of  profound  awe  began  to  creep  over  my  soul.  I 
remembered  the  singular  way  of  his  first  appearance, 
his  long  silence,  and  the  single  word  to  which  he  had 
given  utterance  after  I  had  mentioned  the  name  of 
the  Lord  ;  the  single  occasion  on  which  I  had  done 
so.  What  could  I  then  believe  but  that  ...  in  the 
mysterious  horseman  I  had  a  special  interference  of 
Providence,  by  which  I  was  delivered  from  a  position 
of  extreme  danger  ? ' 

II. 

Of  gigantic  ghosts  there  are  many  examples 
which  are  very  grotesque  indeed.  Such  was  the 
apparition  which  met  Edward  Frank,  a  young  man 
who  lived  in  the  parish  of  Lantarnam.  As  he  was 
coming  home  one  night  he  heard  something  walking 
towards  him,  but  at  first  could  see  nothing.  Suddenly 
his  way  was  barred  by  a  tall  dismal  object  which 
stood  in  the  path  before  him.  It  was  the  ghost  of 
a  marvellous  thin  man,  whose  head  was  so  high 
above  the  observer's  line  of  vision  that  he  nearly 
fell  over  backward  in  his  efforts  to  gaze  at  it.  His 
knees  knocked  together  and  his  heart  sank.  With 
great  difficulty  he  gasped  forth,  '  In  the  name  of 
God  what  is  here  ?  Turn  out  of  my  way  or  I  will 
strike  thee ! '  The  giant  ghost  then  disappeared, 
and  the   frightened  Edward,  seeing  a  cow  not  far 


The  Spirit- World.  177 

off,  went  towards  her  to  lean  on  her,  which  the  cow 
stood  still  and  permitted  him  to  do.  The  naivet6 
of  this  conclusion  is  convincing. 

Equally   prodigious    was    the    spectre    seen    by 
Thomas  Miles  Harry,  of  the  parish  of  Aberystruth. 
He  was  coming  home  by  night  from  Abergavenny, 
when   his   horse  took  fright  at  something  which  it 
saw,  but  which    its   master   could   not   see.     Very 
much   terrified,    the   latter   hastened   to   guide   the 
animal  into  an  adjoining  yard,  and  dismount;  where- 
upon he  saw  the  apparition  of  a  gigantic  woman. 
She   was    so    prodigiously   tall,    according    to    the 
account  of  the  horrified  Harry,  that  she  was  fully 
half  as  high  as  the  tall  beech  trees  on  the  other 
side  of  the  road  ;  and  he  hastened  to  hide  from  his 
eyes  the  awful  sight,  by  running   into  the   house, 
where  they  listened  open-mouthed  to  his  tale      Con- 
cerning this  Mr.  Harry  we  are  assured  that  he  was 
of  an    affable   disposition,    innocent   and   harmless, 
and   the   grandfather   of  that  eminent  and  famous 
preacher   of  the  Gospel,  Thomas  Lewis,  of  Llan- 
haran,    in    Glamorganshire.^      The    same    narrator 
relates  that  Anne,  the  daughter  of  Herbert  Jenkins, 
of  the  parish  of  Trefethin,  '  a  young  woman  well  dis- 
posed to  what  is  good,'  was  going  one  evening  to 
milk  the  cows  by  Rhiw-newith,  when  as  she  passed 
through   a   wood   she   saw    a    horrible    black    man 
standing  by  a  holly  tree.     She  had  with  her  a  dog, 
which  saw  it  also,  and  ran  towards  it  to  bark  at  it, 
upon  which  it  stretched  out  a  long   black  tongue, 
and   the   dog   ran    affrighted    back   to    the    young 
woman,   crawling   and   cringing   about  her  feet  for 
fear.     She  was  in  great  terror  at  all  this,  but  had 
the  courage  still  to  go   on   after   the   cows,   which 
had   strayed   into   another   field.     She  drove  them 

^  Jones, 'Apparitions.' 


178        ^    '      *     British  GooEns. 


back  to  their  own  field,  and  in  passing  the  holly- 
tree  avoided  looking  that  way  for  fear  of  seeing 
the  black  man  again.  However,  after  she  had 
got  safely  by  she  looked  back,  and  saw  the 
monster  once  more,  '  very  big  in  the  middle  and 
narrow  at  both  ends,'  and  as  it  walked  away  the 
ground  seemed  to  tremble  under  its  heavy  tread.  It 
went  towards  a  spring  in  that  field  called  Ffynon 
yr  Yspryd,  (the  Fountain  of  the  Spirit,)  where 
ghosts  had  been  seen  before,  and  crossing  over  the 
stile  into  the  common  way,  it  whistled  so  loud  and 
strong  that  the  narrow  valley  echoed  and  re-echoed 
with  the  prodigious  sound.  Then  it  vanished,  much 
to  the  young  woman's  relief. 


III. 

That  giants  should  appear  in  the  Welsh  spirit- 
land  will  surprise  no  one,  but  the  apparition  of 
black  men  is  more  unique.  The  Mabinogion,  how- 
ever, are  full  of  black  men,  usually  giants,  always 
terrible  to  encounter.  The  black  man  whom  Pere- 
dur  slew  had  but  one  eye,  having  lost  the  other  in 
fighting  with  the  black  serpent  of  the  Carn.  *  There 
is  a  mound,  which  is  called  the  Mound  of  Mourning; 
and  on  the  mound  there  is  a  carn,  and  in  the  carn 
there  is  a  serpent,  and  on  the  tail  of  the  serpent 
there  is  a  stone,  and  the  virtues  of  the  stone  are 
such,  that  whosoever  should  hold  it  in  one  hand, 
in  the  other  he  will  have  as  much  gold  as  he  may 
desire.  And  in  fighting  with  this  serpent  was  it 
that  I  lost  my  eye.'  ^  In  the  '  Lady  of  the  Foun- 
tain '  mabinogi  the  same  character  appears  :  '  a  black 
man  .  .  .  not  smaller  in  size  than  two  of  the  men 
of  this  world,'  and  with  'one  eye  in  the  middle  of 
his  forehead.'  ^     And  there  are  other  black  men  in 

^  *  Mabinogion,'  106.  '^  Ibid.,  6. 


The  Spirit-World.  179 

^ — — — ^ 

other  Mablnoglon,  indicating  the  extremely  ancient 
Hneage  of  the  spectre  seen  by  Anne  Jenkins  at  the 
Fountain  of  the  Spirit.  Whatever  Anglo-Saxon 
scoffers  may  say  of  Welsh  pedigrees  of  mere  flesh 
and  blood,  the  antiquity  of  Its  spectral  hordes  may 
not  be  disputed.  The  black  giant  of  Sindbad  the 
Sailor  and  the  monster  woodward  of  Cynan  alike 
descend  from  the  Polyphemus  blinded  by  Odysseus. 

IV. 

Another  grotesque  Welsh  goblin  goes  whirling 
through  the  world.  Three  examples  are  given  by 
the  Prophet  Jones.  First:  Lewis  Thomas,  the 
father  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Lewis,  was  on  his 
return  from  a  journey,  and  in  passing  through  a 
field  near  Bedwellty,  saw  this  dreadful  apparition, 
to  wit,  the  spectre  of  a  man  walking  or  whirling 
along  on  its  hands  and  feet ;  at  sight  of  which 
Lewis  Thomas  felt  his  hair  to  move  on  his  head  ; 
his  heart  panted  and  beat  violently,  '  his  body 
trembled,  and  he  felt  not  his  clothes  about  him.' 
Second:  John  Jenkins,  a  poor  man,  who  lived  near 
Abertillery,  hanged  himself  in  a  hay-loft.  His 
sister  soon  after  came  upon  his  dead  body  there 
hanging,  and  screamed  loudly.  Jeremiah  James, 
who  lived  In  Abertillery  House,  hearing  the  scream, 
looked  in  that  direction  and  saw  the  'resemblance 
of  a  man '  coming  from  the  hay-loft  '  and  violently 
turning  upwards  and  downwards  topsy  turvy'  to- 
wards the  river,  'which  was  a  dreadful  sight  to  a 
serious  godly  man.'  Third:  Thomas  Andrew,  living 
at  a  place  called  The  Farm,  in  the  parish  of  Lan- 
hiddel,  coming  home  late  at  night  saw  a  whirling 
goblin  on  all  fours  by  the  side  of  a  wall,  which  fell 
to  scraping  the  ground  and  wagging  its  head,  '  look- 
ing aside  one  way  and  the  other,'  making  at  the 

N 


British  Goblins. 


same    time    a    horrible    mowing   noise  ;    at   which 
Thomas  Andrew  '  was  terribly  frightened/ 


The  antics  of  these  and  similar  inhabitants  of  the 
Cambrian  spirit-world  at  times  outdo  the  most  absurd 
capers  of  modern  spiritualism.  At  the  house  of  a 
certain  farmer  in  the  parish  of  Llanllechid,  in  Car- 
narvonshire, there  was  great  disturbance  by  a  spirit 
which  threw  stones  into  the  house,  and  from  one 
room  to  another,  which  hit  and  hurt  the  people  who 
lived  there.  The  stones  were  of  various  sizes,  the 
largest  weighing  twenty-seven  pounds.  Most  of 
them  were  river  stones,  from  the  stream  which  runs 
hard  by.  Some  clergymen  came  from  Bangor  and 
read  prayers  in  the  house,  to  drive  the  spirit  away, 
but  their  faith  was  not  strong  enough,  and  stones 
were  thrown  at  them,  so  that  they  retired  from  the 
contest.  The  family  finally  had  to  abandon  the 
house. 

On  the  farm  of  Edward  Roberts,  in  the  parish  of 
Llangunllo,  in  Radnorshire,  there  was  a  spirit  whose 
antics  were  somewhat  remarkable.  As  the  servant- 
man  was  threshing,  the  threshel  was  taken  out  of  his 
hand  and  thrown  upon  the  hay-loft.  At  first  he  did 
not  mind  this  so  much,  but  when  the  trick  had  been 
repeated  three  or  four  times  he  became  concerned 
about  it,  and  went  into  the  house  to  tell  of  it.  The 
master  of  the  house  was  away,  but  the  wife  and  the 
maid-servant' laughed  at  the  man,  and  merrily  said 
they  would  go  to  the  barn  to  protect  him.  So  they 
went  out  there  and  sat,  the  one  to  knit  and  the  other 
to  wind  yarn.  They  were  not  there  long  before  their 
things  were  taken  from  their  hands  and  tumbled 
about  the  barn.  On  returning  to  the  house,  they 
perceived  the  dishes  on  the  shelves  move  to  and  fro, 


The  Spirit- World.  i8i 

and  some  were  thrown  on  to  the  stone  floor  and 
broken.  That  night  there  was  a  terrible  clattering 
among  the  dishes,  and  next  morning  they  could 
scarcely  tread  without  stepping  on  the  wrecks  of 
crockery  which  lay  about.  This  pleasant  experience 
was  often  repeated.  Neighbours  came  to  see.  People 
even  came  from  far  to  satisfy  their  curiosity — some 
from  so  far  as  Knighton ;  and  one  who  came  from 
Knighton  to  read  prayers  for  the  exorcising  of  the 
spirit,  had  the  book  taken  out  of  his  hand  and 
thrown  upstairs.  Stones  were  often  cast  at  the 
people,  and  once  iron  was  projected  from  the  chim- 
ney at  them.  At  last  the  spirit  set  the  house  on  fire, 
and  nothing  could  quench  it ;  the  house  was  burnt 
down  :  nothing  but  the  walls  and  the  two  chimneys 
stood,  long  after,  to  greet  the  eyes  of  people  who 
passed  to  and  from  Knighton  market. 

VI. 

A  spirit  which  haunted  the  house  of  William 
Thomas,  in  TridoU  Valley,  Glamorganshire,  used  to 
hit  the  maid-servant  on  the  side  of  her  head,  as  it 
were  with  a  cushion,  when  she  was  coming  down  the 
stairs.  *  One  time  she  brought  a  marment  of  water 
into  the  house,'  and  the  water  was  thrown  over  her 
person.  Another  time  there  came  so  great  an 
abundance  of  pilchards  in  the  sea,  that  the  people 
could  scarcely  devour  them,  and  the  maid  asked 
leave  of  her  master  to  go  and  fetch  some  of  them. 
*  No,*  said  he,  being  a  very  just  man,  *  the  pilchards 
are  sent  for  the  use  of  poor  people  ;  we  do  not  want 
them.'  But  the  maid  was  very  fond  of  pilchards, 
and  so  she  went  without  leave,  and  brought  some  to 
the  house.  After  giving  a  turn  about  the  house,  she 
went  to  look  for  her  fish,  and  found  them  thrown  out 
upon  the  dunghill.      *Well,'  said  her  master,   'did 

N    2 


82  British  Goblins. 


I 


not  I  tell  thee  not  to  go  ? '  Once  a  pot  of  meat  was 
on  the  fire,  and  when  they  took  it  off  they  found  both 
meat  and  broth  gone,  none  knew  where,  and  the  pot 
as  empty  as  their  own  bellies.  Sometimes  the  clasped 
Bible  would  be  thrown  whisking  by  their  heads  ; 
and  '  so  it  would  do  with  the  gads  of  the  steller,  and 
once  it  struck  one  of  them  against  the  screen  where 
a  person  then  sat,  and  the  mark  of  it  still  to  be  seen 
in  the  hard  board.'  Once  the  china  dishes  were 
thrown  off  the  shelf,  and  not  one  broke.  *  It  was  a 
great  business  with  this  light-hating  spirit  to  throw 
an  old  lanthorn  about  the  house  without  breaking  it.' 
When  the  maid  went  a-milking  to  the  barn,  the  barn- 
door would  be  suddenly  shut  upon  her  as  she  was 
milking  the  cow  ;  then  when  she  rose  up  the  spirit 
began  to  turn  the  door  backwards  and  forwards  with 
an  idle  ringing  noise.  Once  it  tried  to  make  trouble 
between  the  mistress  and  the  maid  by  strewing  char- 
coal ashes  on  the  milk.  When  William  Evans,  a 
neighbour,  went  there  to  pray,  as  he  knelt  by  the 
bedside,  it  struck  the  bed  such  a  bang  with  a  trencher 
that  it  made  a  report  like  a  gun,  so  that  both  the  bed 
and  the  room  shook  perceptibly.  On  another  occa- 
sion it  made  a  sudden  loud  noise,  which  made  the 
master  think  his  house  was  falling  down,  and  he 
was  prodigiously  terrified  ;  it  never  after  that  made 
so  loud  a  noise. 

The  Rev.  R.  Tibbet,  a  dissenting  minister  from 
Montgomeryshire,  was  one  night  sleeping  in  the 
house,  with  another  person  in  the  bed  with  him  ; 
and  they  had  a  tussle  with  the  Tridoll  spirit  for 
possession  of  the  bed-clothes.  By  praying  and  pull- 
ing with  equal  energy,  the  parson  beat  the  spirit, 
and  kept  the  bed-clothes.  But  the  spirit,  apparently 
angered  by  this  failure,  struck  the  bed  with  the 
cawnen  (a  vessel  to  hold  grain)  such  a  blow  that 


The  Spirit- World.  183 

the  bed  was  knocked  out  of  its  place.  Then  they 
lit  a  light  and  the  spirit  left  them  alone.  It  was  a 
favourite  diversion  with  this  goblin  to  hover  about 
William  Thomas  when  he  was  shaving,  and  occa- 
sionally cuff  him  on  the  side  of  his  head — the  con- 
sequence being  that  the  persecuted  farmer  shaved 
himself  by  fits  and  starts,  in  a  very  unsatisfactory 
manner,  and  in  a  most  uncomfortable  state  of  mind. 
For  about  two  years  it  troubled  the  whole  of  that 
family,  during  which  period  it  had  intervals  of  quiet 
lasting  for  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks.  Once  it 
endeavoured  to  hinder  them  from  going  to  church, 
by  hiding  the  bunch  of  keys,  on  the  Lord's  day,  so 
that  for  all  their  searching  they  could  not  find  them. 
The  good  man  of  the  house  bade  them  not  to  yield 
to  the  devil,  and  as  they  were  loth  to  appear  in  their 
old  clothes  at  meeting,  they  were  about  to  break 
the  locks  ;  but  first  concluded  to  kneel  in  prayer, 
and  so  did.  After  their  prayers  they  found  the 
keys  where  they  used  to  be,  but  where  they  could 
not  find  them  before.  One  night  the  spirit  divided 
the  books  among  the  members  of  the  family,  after 
they  had  gone  to  bed.  To  the  man  of  the  house  it 
gave  the  Bible,  to  the  woman  of  the  house  '  Allen's 
Sure  Guide,'  and  upon  the  bed  of  the  maid-servant 
(whom  it  was  specially  fond  of  plaguing)  it  piled  a  lot 
of  English  books,  which  language  she  did  not  under- 
stand. The  maid  was  heartily  afraid  of  the  spirit, 
and  used  to  fall  on  her  knees  and  go  to  praying 
with  chattering  teeth,  at  all  hours  of  the  day  or 
night ;  and  prayer  this  spirit  could  not  abide. 
When  the  maid  would  go  about  in  the  night  with  a 
candle,  the  light  thereof  would  diminish,  grow  feeble 
as  if  in  dampness,  and  finally  go  out.  The  result 
was  the  maid  was  generally  excused  from  making 
journeys  into  cellar  or  garret  after  dark,  very  much 
to  her  satisfaction. 


184  British  Goblins, 

Particularly  did  this  frisky  TrldoU  spirit  trouble 
the  maid-servant  after  she  had  gone  to  bed — In 
winter  hauling  the  bed-clothes  off  her  ;  in  summer 
piling  more  on  her.  Now  there  was  a  young  man, 
a  first  cousin  to  William  Thomas,  who  could  not  be 
got  to  believe  there  was  a  spirit  at  his  kinsman's 
house,  and  said  the  family  were  only  making  tricks 
with  one  another,  *  and  very  strong  he  was,  a  hero 
of  an  unbeliever,  like  many  of  his  brethren  in 
infidelity.'  One  night  William  Thomas  and  his  wife 
went  to  a  neighbour  s  wake,  and  left  the  house  in 
charge  of  the  doubting  cousin,  who  searched  the 
place  all  over,  and  then  went  to  bed  there ;  and  no 
spirit  came  to  disturb  him.  This  made  him  stronger 
than  ever  In  his  unbelief.  But  soon  after  he  slept 
there  again,  when  they  were  all  there,  and  before 
going  to  bed  he  said  aloud  to  the  maid,  '  If  anything 
comes  to  disturb  thee.  Ally,  call  upon  me,  as  I  lie 
in  the  next  room  to  you.'  During  the  night  the 
maid  cried  out  that  the  spirit  was  pulling  the  clothes 
off  her  bed,  and  the  doubting  cousin  awoke,  jumped 
out  of  bed,  and  ran  to  catch  the  person  he  believed 
to  be  playing  tricks  with  the  maid.  But  there  was 
no  creature  visible,  although  there  rained  upon  his 
doubting  head  a  series  of  cuffs,  and  about  his  person 
a  fusillade  of  kicks,  which  thrust  the  unbelief  quite 
out  of  him,  so  that  he  doubted  no  more.  The 
departure  of  this  spirit  came  about  thus  :  William 
Thomas  being  In  bed  with  his  wife,  heard  a  voice 
calling  him.  He  awaked  his  wife,  and  rising  on 
his  elbow  said  to  the  Invisible  spirit,  '  In  the  name 
of  God  what  seekest  thou  in  my  house  ?  Hast 
thou  anything  to  say  to  me  ?'  The  spirit  answered, 
*  I  have,'  and  desired  him  to  remove  certain  things 
out  of  a  place  where  they  had  been  mislaid. 
'  Satan,'  answered  William  Thomas,  In  a  candid 
manner,     '  I'll    do    nothing    thou    biddest    me ;     I 


^1 


The  Spirit- World.  185 

command  thee,  in  the  name  of  God,  to  depart  from  my 
house/    And  it  obeyed. 

VII. 

This  long  and  circumstantial  account,  which  I 
have  gathered  from  different  sources,  but  mainly 
from  the  two  books  of  the  Prophet  Jones,  will 
impress  the  general  reader  with  its  resemblance,  in 
many  respects,  to  modern  newspaper  ghost  stories. 
The  throwing  about  of  dishes,  books,  keys,  etc.; 
its  raps  and  touches  of  the  person  ;  its  making  of 
loud  noises  by  banging  down  metal  objects ;  all 
these  antics  are  the  tricks  of  contemporaneous 
spiritualism.  But  this  spectre  is  of .  a  date  when 
our  spiritualism  was  quite  unknown.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  spirit  which  threw  stones,  another 
modern  spiritualistic  accomplishment.^  The  spirit- 
ualists will  argue  from  all  this  that  their  belief  is 
substantiated,  not  by  any  means  that  it  is  shaken. 
The  doubter  will  conclude  that  there  were  clever 
tricksters  in  humble  Welsh  communities  some  time 
before  the  American  city  of  Rochester  had  produced 
its  '  mediums.' 

^  For  the  sake  of  comparison,  I  give  the  latest  American  case 
which  comes  under  my  notice.  The  scene  is  Akron,  a  bustling  town 
in  the  State  of  Ohio  ;  the  time  October,  1878.  '  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Michael 
Metzler,  middle-aged  Germans,  with  their  little  daughter,  ten  years  of 
age,  and  Mrs.  Knoss,  Metzler's  mother-in-law,  recently  moved  to  a 
brick  house  in  the  suburbs  known  as  Hell's  Half  Acre.  The  house  is 
a  good,  substantial  building,  situated  in  a  somewhat  open  space,  and 
surrounded  by  a  lonesome  deserted  air.  A  few  days  after  they  had 
moved,  they  were  disturbed  by  sharp  rappings  all  over  the  house, 
produced  by  small  stones  or  pebbles  thrown  against  the  window  panes. 
Different  members  of  the  family  were  hit  by  these  stones  coming  to 
and  going  from  the  house.  Other  persons  were  hit  by  them,  the 
stones  varying  in  size  from  a  pea  to  a  hen's  ^g<g.  Mrs.  Metzler  said 
that  when  she  went  after  the  cow  in  the  evening,  she  could  hear  these 
stones  whisthng  around  her  head.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Metzler,  who  are 
devout  Catholics,  had  Father  Brown  come  to  the  house  to  exorcise 
the  spirits  which  were  tormenting  them.  The  reverend  father,  in  the 
midst  of  his  exercises,  was  struck  by  a  stone,  and  so  dismayed  thereby 
that  he  went  home  in  despair.'    (Newspaper  account.) 


86 


British  Goblins. 


The  student  of  comparative  folk-lore,  in  read- 
ing these  accounts,  will  be  equally  impressed  with 
their  resemblance  to  phenomena  noted  in  many 
other  lands.  The  conclusion  is  irresistible  that  we 
here  encounter  but  another  form  of  the  fairy  which 
goes  in  Wales  by  the  name  of  the  Bwbach,  and  in 
England  is  called  the  Hobgoblin,  in  Denmark  the 
Nis,  in  Scotland  the  Brownie.  Also,  the  resem- 
blance is  strong  in  all  stories  of  this  class  to  certain 
of  the  German  Kobolds.  In  several  of  these 
accounts  of  spirits  in  Wales  appear  the  leading 
particulars  of  the  Kobold  Hinzelmann,  as  condensed 
by  Grimm  from  Feldman's  long  narrative.^  There 
is  also  a  close  correspondence  to  certain  ghost 
stories  found  in  China.  In  the  story  of  Woo,  from 
the  'Che-wan-luk,'^  appear  details  much  like  those 
in  Hinzelmann,  and  equally  resembling  Welsh 
particulars,  either  in  the  stories  given  above,  or 
those  which  follow.  But  we  are  now  drawn  so  near 
to  the  division  of  Familiar  Spirits  that  we  may  as 
well  enter  it  at  once. 

^  'Deutsche  Sagen,'  i.  103. 

2  Dennys,  *  Folk-Lore  of  China,'  86. 


(     18?     ) 


CHAPTER  V. 

Familiar  Spirits— The  Famous  Sprite  of  Trwyn  Farm— Was  it  a 
Fairy  ? — The  Famihar  Spirits  of  Magicians— Sir  David  Lhvyd's 
Demon— Famihar  Spirits  in  Female  Form — The  Legend  of  the 
Lady  of  the  Wood — The  Devil  as  a  Familiar  Spirit — His  Disguises 
in  this  Character— Summoning  and  Exorcising  Famihars — Jenkin 
the  Pembrokeshire  Schoolmaster — The  Terrible  Tailor  of  Glanr 
bran. 

L 

Innumerable  are  the  Welsh  stories  of  familiar 
spirits.  Sometimes  these  are  spectres  of  the  sort 
whose  antics  we  have  just  been  observing.  More 
often  they  are  confessedly  demons,  things  of  evil. 
In  numberless  cases  it  is  no  less  a  personage  than 
the  diawl  himself  who  makes  his  appearance  in  the 
guise  of  a  familiar  spirit.  The  familiar  spirit  which 
takes  up  its  abode  in  the  household  is,  as  we  have 
seen,  a  pranksome  goblin.  Its  personal  appearance 
— or  rather  its  invisibility — is  the  saving  circum- 
stance which  prevents  it  from  being  deemed  a  fairy. 
The  familiar  spirit  which  haunted  the  house  of  Job 
John  Harry,  at  the  Trwyn  Farm,  in  the  parish  of 
Mynyddyslwyn,  was  a  stone-thrower,  a  stroker  of 
persons,  etc.,  but  could  not  be  seen.  It  is  famous 
in  Wales  under  the  cognomen  of  Pwca  'r  Trwyn, 
and  is  referred  to  in  my  account  of  the  Ellylldan.^ 
The  tenants  at  present  residing  on  the  Trwyn 
Farm  are  strangers  who  have  recently  invaded 
the  home  of  this  ancestral  spook,  but  I  was  able 
to  glean  abundant  information  concerning  it  from 
people  thereabout.     It  made  a  home  of  Mr.  Harrys 

^  Supra,  p.  21. 


1 88  British  Goblins, 


house  some  time  in  the  last  century,  for  a  period 
beginning  some  days  before  Christmas,  and  ending 
with  Easter  Wednesday,  on  which  day  it  departed. 
During  this  time  it  spoke,  and  did  many  remark- 
able things,  but  was  always  invisible.  It  began  at 
first  to  make  its  presence  known  by  knocking  at  the 
outer  door  in  the  night ;  but  when  persons  went  to 
open  the  door  there  was  no  one  there.  This 
continued  for  some  time,  much  to  the  perplexity 
of  the  door-openers.  At  last  one  night  it  spoke 
to  the  one  who  opened  the  door,  and  the  family 
were  in  consequence  much  terrified.  Some  of  the 
neighbours,  hearing  these  tales,  came  to  watch  with 
the  family ;  and  Thomas  Evans  foolishly  brought 
a  gun  with  him,  *  to  shoot  the  spirit,'  as  he  said. 
But  as  Job  John  Harry  was  coming  home  that 
night  from  a  journey,  the  familiar  spirit  met  him 
in  the  lane  and  said,  'There  is  a  man  come  to 
your  house  to  shoot  me,  but  thou  shalt  see  how 
I  will  beat  him.'  So  Job  went  on  to  the  house, 
and  immediately  stones  were  thrown  at  the  un- 
believing Thomas  who  had  brought  the  gun,  stones 
from  which  he  received  severe  blows.  The  com- 
pany tried  to  defend  him  from  the  stones,  which 
did  strike  and  hurt  him,  and  no  other  person  ;  but 
their  efforts  were  in  vain.  The  result  was,  that 
Thomas  Evans  took  his  gun  and  ran  home  as  fast 
as  his  legs  would  carry  him,  and  never  again  en- 
gaged in  an  enterprise  of  that  sort. 

As  this  familiar  spirit  got  better  acquainted  with 
its  quarters,  it  became  more  talkative,  and  used 
often  to  speak  from  out  of  an  oven  by  the  hearth's 
side.  It  also  took  to  making  music  o'  nights  with 
Job's  fiddle.  One  night  as  Job  was  going  to  bed, 
the  familiar  spirit  gave  him  a  gentle  stroke  on  the 
toe.     '  Thou  art  curious  in  smiting,'  said  Job.     '  I 


The  Spirit-World.  189 

can  smite  thee  where  I  please/  replied  the  spirit. 
As  time  passed  on  the  family  became  accustomed 
to  their  ghostly  visitor,  and  seeing  it  never  did 
them  any  harm,  but  on  the  contrary  was  a  source 
of  recreation  to  them,  they  used  to  boldly  speak 
to  it,  and  indulge  in  entertaining  conversation. 
One  old  man,  a  neighbour,  more  bold  than  wise, 
hearing  the  spirit  just  by  his  side,  but  being  unable 
to  see  it,  threatened  to  stick  it  with  his  knife. 
*  Thou  fool,'  quoth  the  spirit,  '  how  canst  thou  stick 
what  thou  canst  not  see  with  thine  eyes  ?'  When 
questioned  about  its  antecedents,  the  spirit  said, 
'  1  came  from  Pwll  y  Gasseg '  (Mare's  Pit,  a  place 
in  the  adjacent  mountain),  '  and  I  knew  ye  all 
before  I  came  hither.'  The  wife  of  Morris  Roberts 
desired  one  of  the  family  to  ask  the  spirit  who  it 
was  that  killed  William  Reilly  the  Scotchman  ; 
which  being  done,  the  spirit  said,  *  It  was  Blanch  y 
Byd  who  bade  thee  ask  that  question  ; '  and  Blanch 
y  Byd  (Worldly  Blanche)  was  Morris  Roberts'  wife 
ever  after  called.  On  Easter  Wednesday  the  spirit 
departed,  saying,  *  Dos  yn  iach,  Job,'  (fare  thee 
well.  Job,)  and  Job  asked  the  spirit,  *  Where  goest 
thou  ?'  The  reply  was,   '  Where  God  pleases.'  ^ 

There  are  other  accounts  of  this  Trwyn  sprite 
which  credit  it  to  a  time  long  anterior  to  last 
century ;  but  all  are  consistent  in  this,  that  the 
goblin  is  always  invisible.  The  sole  exception  to 
this  rule  is  the  legend  about  its  having  once  shown  a 
white  hand  to  some  girls  in  the  kitchen,  thrusting  it 

^  Let  me  recommend  the  scene  of  this  story  to  tourists.  It  is  a 
most  romantic  spot,  on  the  top  of  a  mountain,  a  glorious  tramp  from 
Crumlyn,  returning  by  another  road  to  Abercarne.  Wheels  cannot  go 
there,  though  a  sure-footed  horse  might  bear  one  safely  up.  The 
ancient  farmhouse  is  one  of  the  quaintest  in  Wales,  and  must  be 
hundreds  of  years  old  ;  and  its  front  porch  looks  out  over  a  ravine 
hardly  less  grand  and  lonely  than  a  Cahfornian  gulch. 


iQo  British  Goblins, 


through  the  floor  of  its  room  overhead  for  that  pur- 
pose. Now  invisibihty  is  a  violation  of  fairy  tradi- 
tions, while  ghosts  are  very  often  invisible — these 
rapping  and  stone-throwing  ghosts,  always.  It  might 
be  urged  that  this  spirit  was  a  Bwbach,  if  a  fairy 
at  all,  seeing  that  it  kept  pretty  closely  to  the 
house ;  but  on  the  whole  I  choose  to  class  it  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  spirit-world ;  and  really, 
the  student  of  folk-lore  must  classify  his  materials 
distinctly   in   some   understandable   fashion,   or   go 

daft. 

II. 

The  sort  of  familiar  spirit  employed  by  magicians 
in  the  eighteenth  and  preceding  centuries  was  dis- 
tinctly a  demon.  The  spirit  of  this  class  which 
was  ^controlled  by  Sir  David  Llwyd  is  celebrated  in 
Wales.  This  Sir  David  was  a  famous  dealer  in 
the  black  art,  who  lived  in  Cardiganshire.  He  was 
a  physician,  and  at  one  time  a  curate  ;  but  being 
known  to  deal  in  the  magic  art,  he  was  turned  out 
of  the  curacy,  and  obliged  to  live  by  practising 
physic.  It  was  thought  he  learned  the  magic  art 
in  Oxford.  *  It  was  this  man's  great  wickedness,' 
says  the  Prophet  Jones,  '  to  make  use  of  a  familiar 
spirit.  .  .  .  The  bishop  did  well  in  turning  him  out 
of  the  sacred  office,  though  he  was  no  ill-tempered 
man,  for  how  unfit  was  such  a  man  to  read  the 
sacred  Scripture  !  With  what  conscience  could  he 
ask  the  sponsors  in  baptism  to  undertake  for  the 
child  to  renounce  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil, 
who  himself  was  familiar  with  one  of  the  spirits  of 
darkness  ?  ...  Of  this  Sir  David  I  have  heard 
much,  but  chiefly  depend  upon  what  was  told  to 
me  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thomas  Lewis,  the  curate  of 
Landdw  and  Tolachdy,  an  excellent  preacher  of 
the   gospel ;  and    not   sufficiently  esteemed   by  his 


The  Spirit- Wor la.  191 

people,  (which  likely  will  bring  a  judgment  on  them 
in  time  to  come.)  Mr.  Lewis  knew  the  young 
woman  who  had  been  Sir  David's  maid  servant, 
and  the  house  where  he  lived.'  His  familiar  spirit 
he  kept  locked  up  in  a  book.  Once  while  he  was 
in  Radnorshire,  in  going  from  one  house  to  another 
he  accidentally  left  this  book  behind  him,  and  sent 
his  boy  back  to  fetch  it.  The  boy,  being  of  an 
inquisitive  turn  of  mind,  opened  the  book — a  thing 
his  master  had  expressly  charged  him  not  to  do — 
and  the  familiar  spirit  immediately  demanded  to  be 
set  at  work.  The  boy,  though  very  much  alarmed, 
had  the  wit  to  answer,  *  Tafl  gerrig  o'r  afon,' 
(throw  stones  out  of  the  river,)  which  the  spirit 
immediately  did,  so  that  the  air  was  for  a  time  full 
of  flying  stones,  and  the  boy  was  fain  to  skip  about 
in  a  surprisingly  active  manner  in  order  to  dodge 
the  same.  After  a  while,  having  thrown  up  a  great 
quantity  of  stones  out  of  the  river,  (the  Wye,)  the 
spirit  again,  with  the  pertinacity  of  its  kind,  asked 
for  something  to  do  ;  whereupon  the  boy  bade  it 
throw  the  stones  back  again,  which  it  did.  Sir 
David  having  waited  a  long  time  for  the  boy  to 
return,  began  to  suspect  that  things  had  gone 
wrong,  and  so  hastened  back  after  him,  and  com- 
manded the  familiar  spirit  again  into  his  book. 

III. 

Familiar  spirits  of  this  class  are  not  always  in- 
visible ;  and  they  can  assume  such  forms  as  may 
be  necessary  to  serve  their  purposes.  A  favourite 
shape  with  them  is  that  of  a  young  and  lovely 
woman.  Comparisons  are  here  suggested  with  the 
water-maidens,  and  other  like  forms  of  this  fancy  ; 
but  they  need  not  be  pursued.  It  is  necessary  for 
the  student  of  phantoms  to  constantly  remind  him- 


ig^ 


British  Goblins. 


« 


self  of  the  omnipresent  danger  of  being  enticed  too 
far  afield,  unless  he  keep  somewhat  sternly  to  the 
path  he  has  marked  out.  How  ancient  is  the  notion 
of  a  familiar  spirit  in  female  form,  may  be  seen  from 
accounts  which  are  given  by  Giraldus  and  other  old 
writers.  Near  Caerleon,  (Monmouthshire,)  in  the 
twelfth  century,  Giraldus  tells  us  ^  there  lived  '  a 
Welshman  named  Melerius,  who  by  the  following 
means  acquired  the  knowledge  of  future  events  and 
the  occult  sciences :  Having  on  a  certain  night  met  a 
damsel  whom  he  loved,  in  a  pleasant  and  convenient 
place,  while  he  was  indulging  in  her  embraces,  in- 
stead of  a  beautiful  girl  he  found  in  his  arms  a  hairy, 
rough  and  hideous  creature,  the  sight  of  which 
deprived  him  of  his  senses ;  and  after  remaining 
many  years  in  this  condition  he  was  restored  to 
health  in  the  church  of  St.  David's,  through  the 
merits  of  its  saints.  But  having  always  had  an  ex- 
traordinary familiarity  with  unclean  spirits,  by  seeing 
them,  knowing  them,  talking  with  them,  and  calling 
each  by  his  proper  name,  he  was  enabled  through 
their  assistance  to  foretell  future  events  ;  he  was 
indeed  often  deceived  (as  they  are)  with  respect  to 
circumstances  at  a  great  distance  ;  iDut  was  less  mis- 
taken in  affairs  which  were  likely  to  happen  soon,  or 
within  the  space  of  a  year.  They  appeared  to  him 
on  foot,  equipped  as  hunters,  with  horns  suspended 
from  their  necks,  and  truly  as  hunters  not  of  animals 
but  of  souls ;  he  particularly  met  them  near  monas- 
teries and  religious  places  ;  for  where  rebellion  exists 
there  is  the  greatest  need  of  armies  and  strength. 
He  knew  when  anyone  spoke  falsely  in  his  presence, 
for  he  saw  the  devil  as  it  were  leaping  and  exulting 
upon  the  tongue  of  the  liar ;  and  if  he  looked  into  a 
book   faultily   or    falsely   written,    although   wholly 

*  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare's  Trans.,  i.  105. 


I 


The  Spirit-World.  193 

illiterate   he  would   point   out   the   place    with  his 

finger.     Being  questioned  how  he  could  gain  such 

knowledge,  he  said  he  was  directed  by  the  demon's 

finger  to  the  place.'  In  the  same  connection  Giraldus 

mentions   a   familiar    spirit  which   haunted    Lower 

Gwent,  '  a  demon  incubus,  who  from  his  love  for  a 

certain   young  woman,  and   frequenting   the   place 

where  she   lived,   often   conversed  with   men,    and 

frequently    discovered    hidden    things    and    future 

events.' 

IV. 

The  legend  of  the  Lady  of  the  Wood  is  contained 
in  the  lolo  MSS.,  and  is  of  considerable  antiquity. 
It  is  a  most  fascinating  tale  :  Einion,  the  son  of 
Gwalchmai,  '  was  one  fine  summer  morning  walk- 
ing in  the  woods  of  Treveilir,'  when  '  he  beheld  a 
graceful  slender  lady  of  elegant  growth,  and  delicate 
feature,  and  her  complexion  surpassing  every  white 
and  red  in  the  morning  dawn  and  the  mountain 
snow,  and  every  beautiful  colour  in  the  blossoms  of 
wood,  field,  and  hill.  And  then  he  felt  in  his  heart 
an  inconceivable  commotion  of  affection,  and  he 
approached  her  in  a  courteous  manner,  and  she  also 
approached  him  in  the  same  manner ;  and  he  saluted 
her,  and  she  returned  his  salutation ;  and  by  these 
mutual  salutations  he  perceived  that  his  society  was 
not  disagreeable  to  her.  He  then  chanced  to  cast 
his  eye  upon  her  foot,  and  he  saw  that  she  had  hoofs 
Instead  of  feet,  and  he  became  exceedingly  dissatis- 
fied,' as  well  he  might.  But  the  lady  gave  him  to 
understand  that  he  must  pay  no  attention  to  this 
trifling  freak  of  nature.  '  Thou  must,'  she  said, 
'  follow  me  wheresoever  I  go,  as  long  as  I  continue 
In  my  beauty.'  The  son  of  Gwalchmai  thereupon 
asked  permission  to  go  and  say  good-bye  to  his  wife, 
at  least.     This  the  lady  agreed  to;  'but,' said  she, 


194  British  Goblins. 


*  I  shall  be  with  thee,  invisible  to  all  but  thyself.'  *  So 
he  went,  and  the  goblin  went  with  him  ;  and  when 
he  saw  Angharad,  his  wife,  he  saw  her  a  hag  like 
one  grown  old,  but  he  retained  the  recollection  of 
days  past,  and  still  felt  extreme  affection  for  her,  but 
he  was  not  able  to  loose  himself  from  the  bond  in 
which  he  was.  **  It  is  necessary  for  me,"  said  he,  *'  to 
part  for  a  time,  I  know  not  how  long,  from  thee, 
Angharad,  and  from  thee,  my  son,  Einion,"  and  they 
wept  together,  and  broke  a  gold  ring  between  them  ; 
he  kept  one  half  and  Angharad  the  other,  and  they 
took  their  leave  of  each  other,  and  he  went  with  the 
Lady  of  the  Wood,  and  knew  not  where ;  for  a 
powerful  illusion  was  upon  him,  and  he  saw  not  any 
place,  or  person,  or  object  under  its  true  and  proper 
appearance,  excepting  the  half  of  the  ring  alone. 
And  after  being  a  long  time,  he  knew  not  how  long, 
with  the  goblin,  the  Lady  of  the  Wood,  he  looked 
one  morning  as  the  sun  was  rising  upon  the  half  of 
the  ring,  and  he  bethought  him  to  place  it  in  the 
most  precious  place  he  could,  and  he  resolved  to  put 
it  under  his  eyelid ;  and  as  he  was  endeavouring  to 
do  so,  he  could  see  a  man  in  white  apparel,  and 
mounted  on  a  snow-white  horse,  coming  towards 
him,  and  that  person  asked  him  what  he  did  there  ; 
and  he  told  him  that  he  was  cherishing  an  afflicting 
remembrance  of  his  wife  Angharad.  "  Dost  thou 
desire  to  see  her  ?"  said  the  man  in  white.  "  I  do," 
said  Einion,  "  above  all  things,  and  all  happiness  of 
the  world."  '*  If  so,"  said  the  man  in  white,  *'get 
upon  this  horse,  behind  me  ;"  and  that  Einion  did, 
and  looking  around  he  could  not  see  any  appearance 
of  the  Lady  of  the  Wood,  the  goblin,  excepting  the 
track  of  hoofs  of  marvellous  and  monstrous  size,  as 
if  journeying  towards  the  north.  *'  What  delusion 
art  thou   under  ? "  said  the  man  in  white.      Then 


The  Spirit' World.  195 


Einion  answered  him  and  told  everything  how  it 
occurred  'twixt  him  and  the  goblin.  "Take  this 
white  staff  in  thy  hand,"  said  the  man  in  white,  and 
Einion  took  it.  And  the  man  in  white  told  him  to 
desire  whatever  he  wished  for.  The  first  thing  he 
desired  was  to  see  the  Lady  of  the  Wood,  for  he 
was  not  yet  completely  delivered  from  the  illusion. 
And  then  she  appeared  to  him  in  size  a  hideous  and 
monstrous  witch,  a  thousand  times  more  repulsive  of 
aspect  than  the  most  frightful  things  seen  upon 
earth.  And  Einion  uttered  a  cry  of  terror  ;  and  the 
man  in  white  cast  his  cloak  over  Einion,  and  in  less 
than  a  twinkling  Einion  alighted  as  he  wished  on 
the  hill  of  Treveilir,  by  his  own  house,  where  he 
knew  scarcely  any  one,  nor  did  any  one  know  him.' 
The  goblin  meantime  had  gone  to  Einion's  wife,  in 
the  disguise  of  a  richly  apparelled  knight,  and  made 
love  to  her,  pretending  that  her  husband  was  dead. 
*  And  the  illusion  fell  upon  her ;  and  seeing  that  she 
should  become  a  noble  lady,  higher  than  any  in 
Wales,  she  named  a  day  for  her  marriage  with  him. 
And  there  was  a  great  preparation  of  every  elegant 
and  sumptuous  apparel,  and  of  meats  and  drinks, 
and  of  every  honourable  guest,  and  every  excellence 
of  song  and  string,  and  every  preparation  of  banquet 
and  festive  entertainment.'  Now  there  was  a  beau- 
tiful harp  in  Angharad's  room,  which  the  goblin 
knight  desired  should  be  played  on  ;  '  and  the  harp- 
ers present,  the  best  in  Wales,  tried  to  put  it  in  tune, 
and  were  not  able.'  But  Einion  presented  himself 
at  the  house,  and  offered  to  play  on  it.  Angharad, 
being  under  an  illusion,  '  saw  him  as  an  old,  de- 
crepit, withered,  grey-haired  man,  stooping  with  age, 
and  dressed  in  rags.'  Einion  tuned  the  harp,  *  and 
played  on  it  the  air  which  Angharad  loved.  And 
she  marvelled  exceedingly,  and  asked  him  who  he 


British  Goblins. 


was.     And  he  answered  in  song :  .   .  .   "  Einion  the 
golden-hearted."  .  .  . 

"  Where  hast  thou  been  !  " 
"In  Kent,  in  Gwent,  in  the  wood,  in  Monmouth, 
In  Maenol,  Gorwenydd  ; 
And  in  the  valley  of  Gwyn,  the  son  of  Nudd  ; 
See,  the  bright  gold  is  the  token." 

And  he  gave  her  the  ring. 

"  Look  not  on  the  whitened  hue  of  my  hair, 

Where  once  my  aspect  was  spirited  and  bold  ; 

Now  gray,  without  disguise,  where  once  it  was  yellow. 

Never  was  Angharad  out  of  my  remembrance, 
But  Einion  was  by  thee  forgotten." 

But  Angharad  '  could  not  bring  him  to  her  recol- 
lection.    Then  said  he  to  the  guests : 

"  If  I  have  lost  her  whom  I  loved,  the  fair  one  of  polished  mind, 
The  daughter  of  Ednyved  Vychan, 
I  have  not  lost  (so  get  you  out !) 

Either  my  bed,  or  my  house,  or  my  fire." 

'  And  upon  that  he  placed  the  white  staff  in 
Angharad's  hand,  and  instantly  the  goblin  which 
she  had  hitherto  seen  as  a  handsome  and  honour- 
able nobleman,  appeared  to  her  as  a  monster, 
inconceivably  hideous ;  and  she  fainted  from  fear, 
and  Einion  supported  her  until  she  revived.  And 
when  she  opened  her  eyes,  she  saw  there  neither 
the  goblin,  nor  any  of  the  guests,  nor  of  the  minstrels, 
nor  anything  whatever  except  Einion,  and  her  son, 
and  the  harp,  and  the  house  in  its  domestic  arrange- 
ment, and  the  dinner  on  the  table,  casting  its 
savoury  odour  around.  And  they  sat  down  to  eat 
.  .  .  and  exceeding  great  was  their  enjoyment. 
And  they  saw  the  illusion  which  the  demoniacal 
goblin  had  cast  over  them.  .  .  .  And  thus  it  ends.'^ 

1  lolo  MSS.  587,  et  seq. 


The  Spirit- World.  197 


There  is  hardly  a  goblin  in  the  world  more  widely 
known  than  this  spectre  of  the  forest.  Her  story 
appears  in  the  legends  of  very  many  lands,  including 
China.  Its  ancient  Grecian  prototype  is  found  in 
the  Odyssey.^ 

When  it  is  the  Diawl  himself  who  appears  in  the 
role  of  the  familiar  spirit,  his  majesty  is  usually  in 
some  other  form  than  that  of  a  man,  with  hoofs, 
horns,  and  tail.  The  orthodox  form  of  Satan  has 
indeed  been  seen  in  many  parts  of  Wales,  but  not 
when  doing  duty  as  a  familiar  spirit.  A  Welsh  poet 
of  the  thirteenth  century  mentions  this  form  : 

And  the  horned  devil, 
With  sharp  hoofs 
On  his  heels.^ 

He  is  variously  called  cythraul,  dera,  diafol,  all 
euphemisms  for  devil,  equivalent  to  our  destroyer, 
evil  one,  adversary — as  well  as  plain  diawl,  devil. 
In  his  character  of  a  familiar  spirit  he  assumes  the 
shape  of  a  fiery  ball,  a  donkey,  a  black  calf,  a  round 
bowl,  a  dog,  a  roaring  flame,  a  bull,  a  goose,  and 
numberless  others,  including  the  imp  that  goes  into 
a  book.  In  all  this  he  bears  out  the  character  given 
him  in  old  mythology,  where  he  grows  big  or  little 
at  pleasure,  and  roars  in  a  gale  as  Herm.es,  the  wind- 
god,  howls  as  a  dog,  enters  a  walnut  as  in  the 
Norse  Tale,  or  is  confined  in  a  bottle  as  the  genie 
of  the  '  Arabian  Nights.' 

^  In  his  fascinating  essay  on  the  '  Folk- Lore  of  France,'  in  the 
*Folk-Lore  Record'  for  1878  (published  by  the  Folk-Lore  .Society) 
Mr.  A.  Lang  says  :  '  So  widespread  is  this  superstition,  that  a  friend 
of  mine  declares  he  has  met  with  it  among  the  savages  of  New  Cale- 
donia, and  has  known  a  native  who  actually  died,  as  he  himself  said 
he  would,  after  meeting  one  of  the  fairy  women  of  the  wild  wood  ' 

2  Gruffydd  ab  yr  Ynad  Coch. 

O    2 


British  Goblins. 


To  that  eminent  nonconformist  preacher,  Vavasor 
Powell,  the  devil  once  appeared  in  shape  like  a 
house.  '  Satan  .  .  .  appeared  several  times,  and 
in  several  wayes,  to  me  :  as  once  like  a  house,  stood 
directly  in  my  way,  with  which  sight  I  fell  on  my 
face  as  dead.  .  .  .  Another  time,  being  alone  in  my 
chamber  ...  I  perceived  a  strong  cold  wind  to 
blow  ...  it  made  the  hair  of  my  flesh  to  stand 
up,  and  caused  all  my  bones  to  shake  ;  and  on  the 
suddain,  I  heard  one  walk  about  me,  tramping  upon 
the  chamber  floor,  as  if  it  had  been  some  heavie  big 
man  .  .  .  but  it  proved  in  the  end  to  be  no  other 
than  .  .  .  Satan.'  ^ 

A  black  calf,  which  haunted  a  Pembrokeshire 
brook  early  in  the  present  century,  was  believed  to 
be  the  devil  in  familiar  guise.  It  appeared  at  a 
certain  spot  near  the  village  of  Narberth — a  village 
which  has  figured  actively  in  mythic  story  since 
the  earliest  ages  of  which  there  is  any  record. 
One  night  two  peasants  caught  the  terrible  calf 
and  took  it  home,  locking  it  up  safely  in  a  stable 
with  some  other  cattle,  but  it  had  vanished  when 
morning  came. 

Henry  Llewelyn,  of  Ystrad  Defoe  parish,  Glamor- 
ganshire, was  beset  by  the  devil  in  the  shape  of 
a  round  bowl.  He  had  been  sent  by  his  minister 
(Methodist)  to  fetch  from  another  parish  a  load  of 
religious  books — Bibles,  Testaments,  Watts'  '  Psalms, 
Hymns  and  Songs  for  Children ' — and  was  coming 
home  with  the  same,  on  horseback,  by  night,  when 
he  saw  a  living  thing,  round  like  a  bowl,  moving 
to    and    fro    across   the  lane.     The  bold   Llewelyn 

^  *  The  Life  and  Death  of  Mr.  Vavasor  Powell,'  p.  8.  (A  curious 
seventeenth  century  book,  no  two  existing  copies  of  which  appear  to 
be  alike.  I  here  cite  from  that  in  the  library  of  the  Marquis  of  Bute, 
than  which  a  more  perfect  copy  is  rarely  met  with.) 


n 


The  Spirit- World.  199 

having    concluded    it    was    the    devil,    resolved    to 

speak  to  it.     '  What  seekest  thou,  thou  foul  thing  ?' 

he  demanded,  adding,    '  In  the  name  of  the   Lord 

Jesus  go  away!'     And   to   prove  that  it  was  the 

adversary,    at    these    words    it   vanished    into    the 

ground,  leaving  a  sulphurous  smell  behind. 

To  William  Jones,   a  sabbath-breaker,   of  Risca 

village,  the  devil  appeared  as  an  enormous  mastiff 

dog,  which  transformed  itself  into  a  great  fire  and 

made  a  roaring  noise  like  burning  gorse.     And  to 

two   men   at    Merthyr   Tydfil,   in    Glamorganshire, 

the    fiend    appeared    in    the    shape    of    a    gosling. 

These  men  were  one  night   drinking   together   at 

the   Black   Lion   Inn,   when   one   dared   the   other 

to   go   to   conjure.     The   challenge  was   accepted, 

and  they  went,  but  conducted  their  emprise  with 

such  drunken  recklessness,  that  the  devil  put  out 

the  eyes  of  one  of  them,  so  that  he  was  blind  the 

rest  of  his  days. 

VI. 

The  mode  of  summoning  and  of  exorcising 
familiar  spirits — in  other  words,  of  laying  and 
raising  the  devil — varies  little  the  world  over. 
Even  in  China,  the  magic  circle  is  entered  and 
incantations  are  muttered  when  the  fiend  is  sum- 
moned ;  and  for  the  exorcism  of  devils  there  are 
laws  like  our  own — though  since  modern  Christianity 
has  been  introduced  in  China  the  most  popular 
exorcist  is  the  Christian  missionary.^  In  Wales, 
the  popular  belief  is  compounded  of  about  equal 
parts  of  foul  magic  and  fair  Biblical  text ;  magic 
chiefly  for  summoning,  the  Book  for  exorcising. 

John  Jenkin,  a  schoolmaster  in  Pembrokeshire, 
was  a  conjuror  of  renown  in  that  part  of  Wales. 
One  of  his  scholars  who  had  a  curiosity  to  see  the 

^  Dennys,  '  Folk-Lore  of  China,'  89. 


200  British  Goblins. 


devil  made  bold  to  ask  the  master  to  assist  him 
to  that  entertainment.  '  May  see  him/  said  the 
master,  'if  thou  hast  the  courage  for  it.  Still,'  he 
added,  '  I  do  not  choose  to  call  him  till  I  have 
employment  for  him.'  So  the  boy  waited  ;  and  not 
long  after  a  man  came  to  the  master  saying  he  had 
lost  some  money,  and  wished  to  be  told  who  had 
stolen  it.  '  Now,'  the  master  said  to  the  scholar, 
*  I  have  some  business  for  him.'  At  night  they 
went  into  the  wood  together  and  drew  a  circle, 
which  they  entered,  and  the  schoolmaster  called 
one  of  the  spirits  of  evil  by  its  name.  Presently 
they  saw  a  light  in  the  sky,  which  shot  like  lightning 
down  to  the  circle,  and  turned  round  about  it.  The 
conjuror  asked  it  who  had  stolen  the  man's  money  ; 
the  spirit  did  not  know,  and  it  disappeared.  Then 
the  schoolmaster  called  another  evil  spirit  by  its 
name ;  and  presently  they  saw  the  resemblance  of 
a  bull  flying  through  the  air  towards  them,  so  swiftly 
and  fiercely  as  if  it  would  go  through  them ;  and  it 
also  turned  about  the  circle.  But  the  conjuror 
asked  it  in  vain  who  had  the  stolen  money.  '  I 
must  call  still  another,'  said  he.  The  schoolboy  was 
now  almost  dead  with  fear,  and  the  conjuror  con- 
siderately waited  till  he  was  somewhat  revived 
before  calling  the  third  spirit.  But  when  he  did 
call,  there  came  out  of  the  wood  a  spirit  dressed 
in  white,  and  went  about  the  circle.  '  Ah,'  said 
the  schoolmaster,  *  we  shall  now  hear  something 
from  this.'  And  sure  enough  '  this '  told  the  con- 
juror (in  a  language  the  boy  could  not  understand) 
where  the  money  was,  and  all  about  it.  Then  it 
vanished  in  red  fire ;  and  that  boy  '  has  never  been 
well  since,  the  effect  of  the  great  fright  still  cleaving 
to  him.' 

Not  far  from  Glanbran,  in  Carmarthenshire,  lived 


1 

I 


The  Spirit-World.  201 

a  tailor,  who  added  to  his  trade  as  a  breeches- 
mender  the  loftier,  if  wickeder,  employments  of  a 
worker  in  magic.  A  certain  Mr.  Gwynne,  living 
at  Glanbran,  took  it  upon  himself  to  ridicule  this 
terrible  tailor,  for  the  tailor  was  a  little  man,  and 
Mr.  Gwynne  was  a  burly  six-footer,  who  feared 
nobody.  '  Thou  have  the  courage  to  look  upon 
the  devil ! '  sneered  Gwynne  ;  *  canst  thou  show  him 
to  me  ? '  '  That  I  can,'  said  the  tailor,  his  eyes 
flashing  angrily ;  '  but  you  are  not  able  to  look  at 
him.'  '  What ! '  roared  Gwynne,  '  thou  able  to  look 
at  him,  and  not  I  ? '  '  Very  well,'  quoth  the  tailor  ; 
if  you  are  able  to  look  at  him  I  will  show  him  to 
you.'  It  was  in  the  day  time,  but  the  tailor  went 
immediately  into  a  little  grove  of  wood  in  a  field 
hard  by,  and  made  a  circle  in  the  usual  manner. 
In  a  short  time  he  returned  to  fetch  the  incredulous 
Mr.  Gwynne,  saying,  '  Come  with  me  and  you  shall 
see  him.'  The  two  then  crossed  the  field  until 
they  came  to  the  stile  by  the  wood,  when  suddenly 
the  tailor  cried,  '  Look  yonder !  there  it  is  ! '  And 
looking,  Mr.  Gwynne  saw,  in  the  circle  the  tailor 
had  drawn,  'one  of  the  fallen  angels,  now  become 
a  devil.'  It  was  so  horrible  a  sight  that  the  terrified 
Mr.  Gwynne  was  never  after  able  to  describe  it ; 
but  from  that  time  forth  he  had  a  proper  respect  for 
the  tailor. 


202 


British  Goblins. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Evil  Spirit  in  his  customary  Form — The  stupid  Medieval  Devil 
in  Wales — Sion  Cent — The  Devil  outwitted — Pacts  with  the  Fiend 
and  their  Avoidance  —  Sion  Dafydd's  Foul  Pipe  —  The  Devil's 
Bridge  and  its  Legends — Similar  Legends  in  other  Lands — The 
Devil's  Pulpit  near  Tintern — Angelic  Spirits — Welsh  Superstitions 
as  to  pronouncing  the  Name  of  the  Evil  Spirit — The  Bardic  Tradition 
of  the  Creation— The  Struggle  between  Light  and  Darkness  and  its 
Symbolization. 

I. 

The  devil  has  often  appeared  in  Wales  in  his  cus- 
tomary form,  or  with  his  distinctive  marks  covered 
up  by  such  clothing  as  mortals  wear.  There  was 
even  a  tailor  in  Cardiganshire  who  had  the  honour 
of  making  a  suit  of  clothes  for  his  sulphuric  majesty. 
The  medieval  view  of  this  malignant  spirit — which 
makes  the  devil  out  as  dull  and  stupid  as  he  is  men- 
dacious and  spiteful — still  lingers  in  some  parts. 
Those  formal  pacts  with  the  devil,  the  first  traces  of 
which  are  found  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  cen- 
turies, have  been  made  in  great  numbers  in  Wales  ; 
and  tales  in  which  the  devil  is  outwitted  by  a  mortal 
are  still  preserved  with  much  distinctness  in  various 
localities.  That  the  myth  of  Polyphemus  reappears 
in  all  accounts  of  this  sort,  is  pretty  well  agreed 
among  students  of  folk-lore.  Hercules  and  Cacus, 
Polyphemus  and  Odysseus,  Peredur  and  the  one- 
eyed  monster  of  the  Mabinogion,  Gambrinus  and 
der  Teufel,  Jack  the  Giant- Killer,  Norse  Jotuns  and 
Arabian  genii  tricked  and  bottled ;  all  these  are 
deemed  outgrowths  of  the  same  primeval  idea,  to 
wit,  the  victory  of  the  sun-god  over  the  night-fiend ; 


The  Spirit-World.  203 

and  the  story  of  Sion  Cent's  compact  with  the  diawl 
is  doubtless  from  the  same  root.  Certain  it  is  that 
were  not  the  devil  at  times  gullible,  he  never  would 
have  been  so  useful  as  a  familiar  spirit,  never  could 
have  been  made  so  completely  a  slave  to  his  mortal 
masters.  The  Pope  (Benedict  IX.)  who  had  seven 
evil  spirits  in  a  sugar-bottle,  merely  subdivided  the 
arch-fiend  in  the  same  way  the  genii  of  the  old 
tales  are  subdivided — now  existing  as  a  dense  and 
visible  form,  again  expanding  to  blot  out  the  sky, 
and  again  entering  the  narrow  compass  of  a  bottle 
or  a  nut-shell ;  co-existing  in  a  million  places  at  the 
same  instant,  yet  having  a  single  individuality. 

II. 

Tradition  relates  that  Sion  Cent  was  a  famous 
necromancer  in  Monmouthshire,  who  outwitted  the 
devil,  not  once  but  many  times.  He  lives  in  popular 
legend  simply  as  a  worker  in  magic,  but  in  reality 
he  was  a  worthy  minister,  the  Rev.  John  Kent,  who 
flourished  from  1420  to  1470,  and  wrote  several 
theological  works  in  Latin.  In  his  native  Welsh  he 
confined  himself  to  poetry,  and  Sion  Cent  was  his 
Cymric  pseudonym.  Like  many  learned  men  in 
those  days,  he  was  accredited  with  magical  powers 
by  the  ignorant  peasantry,  and  of  his  transactions 
with  the  devil  many  stories  were  then  invented 
which  still  survive.  One  relates  that  he  once  served 
as  a  farmer's  boy,  and  was  set  to  keep  the  crows 
from  the  corn,  but  preferring  to  go  to  Grosmont 
fair,  he  confined  the  crows  in  an  old  roofless  barn 
by  a  magic  spell  till  the  next  day,  when  he  returned. 
His  compact  with  the  devil  enabled  him  to  build  the 
bridge  over  the  Monnow,  near  Grosmont,  which  still 
bears  his  name.  The  compact  gave  the  devil  the 
man's  soul,  as  all  such  compacts  do — the  stipulation 


204  British  Goblins. 

being  that  if  his  body  were  buried  either  in  or  out  of 
the  church,  his  soul  should  be  forfeit  to  the  diawl. 
But  the  shrewd  Welshman  gave  orders  that  he  should 
be  buried  exactly  under  the  chancel  wall,  so  that  he 
should  lie  neither  in  the  church  nor  out  of  it ;  and 
the  devil  was  made  a  fool  of  by  this  device.  A 
precisely  similar  tradition  exists  concerning  an  old 
gentleman  in  Carmarthenshire. 


III. 

A  popular  legend  giving  the  origin  of  the  jack-o'- 
lantern  in  Wales  deals  with  the  idea  of  a  stupid 
devil :  A  long  time  ago  there  lived  on  the  hills  of 
Arfon  an  old  man  of  the  name  of  Sion  Dafydd,  who 
used  to  converse  much  with  one  of  the  children  of 
the  bottomless  pit.  One  morning  Sion  was  on  his 
way  to  Llanfair-Fechan,  carrying  a  flail  on  his 
shoulder,  for  he  had  corn  there,  when  whom  should 
he  meet  but  his  old  friend  from  the  pit,  with  a  bag 
on  his  back,  and  in  it  two  little  devils  like  himself. 
After  conversing  for  some  time  they  began  to 
quarrel,  and  presently  were  in  the  midst  of  a 
terrible  fight.  Sion  fell  to  basting  the  devils  with 
his  flail,  until  the  bag  containing  the  two  little  ones 
went  all  to  pieces,  and  the  two  tumbling  out,  fled 
for  their  lives  to  Rhiwgyfylchi,  which  village  is  con- 
sidered to  this  day  a  very  wicked  place  from  this  fact. 
Sion  then  went  his  way  rejoicing,  and  did  not  for  a 
long  time  encounter  his  adversary.  Eventually, 
however,  they  met,  and  this  time  Sion  had  his  gun 
on  his  shoulder.  'What's  that  long  thing  you're 
carrying?'  inquired  the  devil.  'That's  my  pipe,' 
said  Sion.  Then  the  devil  asked,  'Shall  I  have  a 
whiff  out  of  it  ?'  '  You  shall,'  was  Sion  s  reply,  and 
he  placed  the  mouth  of  his  gun  in  the  devil's  throat 
and  drew  the  trigger.     Well ;  that  was  the  loudest 


The  Spirit-World.  205 


report  from  a  gun  that  was  ever  heard  on  this  earth. 

*  Ach  ! — tw  ! — tw  !'  exclaimed  the  smoker,  '  your 
pipe  is  very  foul,'  and  he  disappeared  in  a  flame. 
After  a  lapse  of  time,  Sion  met  him  again  in  the 
guise  of  a  gentleman,  but  the  Welshman  knew  it 
was  the  tempter.  This  time  he  made  a  bargain  for 
which  he  was  ever  afterwards  sorry,  i.e.,  he  sold 
himself  to  the  devil  for  a  sum  down,  but  with  the 
understanding  that  whenever  he  could  cling  to 
something  the  devil  should  not  then  control  him. 
One  day  when  Sion  was  busily  gardening,  the  evil 
one  snatched  him  away  into  the  air  without  warning, 
and  Sion  was  about  giving  up  all  hopes  of  again 
returning   to    earth,   when    he    thought   to   himself, 

*  I'll  ask  the  devil  one  last  favour.'  The  stupid 
devil  listened.  '  All  I  want  is  an  apple,'  said  Sion, 
'  to  moisten  my  lips  a  bit  down  below ;  let  me  go 
to  the  top  of  my  apple-tree,  and  I'll  pick  one.'  '  Is 
that  all  ?'  quoth  the  diawl,  and  consented.  Of 
course  Sion  laid  hold  of  the  apple-tree,  and  hung 
on.  The  devil  had  to  leave  him  there.  But  the 
old  reprobate  was  too  wicked  for  heaven,  and  the 
devil  having  failed  to  take  him  to  the  other  place, 
he  was  turned  into  a  fairy,  and  is  now  the  jack-o'- 
lantern.^ 

IV. 

Best  known  among  the  natural  objects  in  various 
parts  of  Wales  which  are  connected  with  the  devil 
in  popular  lore,  is  the  Devil's  Bridge,  in  Cardigan- 
shire. Associated  with  this  bridge  are  several 
legends,  which  derive  their  greatest  interest  from 
their  intrinsic  evidences  of  an  antiquity  in  common 
with  the  same  legends  in  other  lands.  The  guide- 
books of  the  region,  like  guide-books  everywhere,  in 
their  effort  to    avoid   being   led   into  unwarranted 

*  *  Cyraru  Fu,'  355  et  seq. 


2o6  British  Goblins. 


statement,  usually  indulge  in  playfully  sarcastic  refer- 
ences to  these  ancient  tales.  They  are  much  older, 
however,  than  the  bridge  itself  can  possibly  be.  The 
devil's  activity  in  bridge-building  is  a  myth  more 
ancient  than  the  medieval  devil  of  our  acquaintance. 
The  building  story  of  the  Devil's  Bridge  in  Cardigan- 
shire runs  briefly  thus  :  An  old  woman  who  had  lost 
her  cow  spied  it  on  the  other  side  of  the  ravine,  and 
was  in  great  trouble  about  it,  not  knowing  how  to 
get  over  where  the  animal  was.  The  devil,  taking 
advantage  of  her  distress,  offered  to  throw  a  bridge 
over  the  ravine,  so  that  she  might  cross  and  get  her 
cow  ;  but  he  stipulated  that  the  first  living  creature 
to  cross  the  bridge  should  be  his.  The  old  woman 
agreed ;  the  bridge  was  built ;  and  the  devil  waited 
to  see  her  cross.  She  drew  a  crust  of  bread  from 
her  pocket,  threw  it  over,  and  her  little  black  dog 
flew  after  it.  '  The  dog's  yours,  sir,'  said  the  dame  ; 
and  Satan  was  discomfited.  In  the  story  told  of  the 
old  bridge  over  the  Main  at  Frankfort,  a  bridge- 
contractor  and  his  troubles  are  substituted  for  the 
old  woman  and  her  cow ;  instead  of  a  black  dog 
a  live  rooster  appears,  driven  in  front  of  him  by 
the  contractor.  The  Welsh  Satan  seems  to  have 
received  his  discomfiture  good-naturedly  enough  ;  in 
the  German  tale  he  tears  the  fowl  to  pieces  in  his 
rage.  In  Switzerland,  every  reader  knows  the  story 
told  of  the  devil's  bridge  in  the  St.  Gothard  pass. 
A  new  bridge  has  taken  the  place,  for  public  use,  of 
the  old  bridge  on  the  road  to  Andermatt,  and  to  the 
dangers  of  the  crumbling  masonry  are  added  super- 
stitious terrors  concerning  the  devil's  power  to  catch 
any  one  crossing  after  dark.  The  old  Welsh  bridge 
has  been  in  like  manner  superseded  by  a  modern 
structure ;  but  I  think  no  superstition  like  the  last 
noted  is  found  at  Hafod. 


The  Spirit- World,  207 


V. 

The  English  have  a  saying  that  the  devil  lives  in 
the  middle  of  Wales.  There  is  in  every  part  of 
Wales  that  I  have  seen  a  custom  of  whitening  the 
doorsteps  with  chalk,  and  it  is  said  to  have  originated 
in  the  belief  that  his  Satanic  majesty  could  not  enter 
a  door  thus  protected.  The  devil  of  slovenliness 
certainly  would  find  difficulty  in  entering  a  Welsh 
cottage  if  the  tidiness  of  its  doorstep  is  borne  out 
in  the  interior.  But  out-of-doors  everywhere  there 
are  sisfns  of  the  devil's  active  habits.  His  flowers 
grow  on  the  river-banks  ;  his  toes  are  imprinted  on 
the  rocks.  Near  Tintern  Abbey  there  is  a  jutting 
crag  overhung  by  gloomy  branches  of  the  yew,  called 
the  Devil's  Pulpit.  His  eminence  used  In  other 
and  wickeder  days  to  preach  atrocious  morals,  or 
immorals,  to  the  white-robed  Cistercian  monks  of 
the  abbey,  from  this  rocky  pulpit.  One  day  the 
devil  grew  bold,  and  taking  his  tail  under  his  arm  in 
an  easy  and  dSgag^e  manner,  hobnobbed  familiarly 
with  the  monks,  and  finally  proposed,  just  for  a 
lark,  that  he  should  preach  them  a  nice  red-hot 
sermon  from  the  rood-loft  of  the  abbey.  To  this 
the  monks  agreed,  and  the  devil  came  to  church  in 
high  glee.  But  fancy  his  profane  perturbation  (I 
had  nearly  written  holy  horror)  when  the  treacherous 
Cistercians  proceeded  to  shower  him  with  holy 
water.  The  devil  clapped  his  tail  between  his  legs 
and  scampered  off  howling,  and  never  stopped 
till  he  got  to  Llandogo,  where  he  leaped  across  the 
river  into  England,  leaving  the  prints  of  his  talons 
on  a  stone. 

VI. 

Where  accounts  of  the  devil's  appearance  are  so 
numerous,  it  is  perhaps  somewhat  surprising  so  little 


2o8  British  Goblins. 


is  heard  of  apparitions  of  angels.  There  are  reasons 
for  this,  however,  which  might  be  enlarged  upon. 
Tradition  says  that  '  in  former  times '  there  were 
frequent  visits  of  angels  to  Wales ;  and  their  rare 
appearance  in  our  days  is  ascribed  to  the  completion 
of  revelation.  One  or  two  modern  instances  of 
angelic  visitation  are  given  by  the  Prophet  Jones. 
There  was  David  Thomas,  who  lived  at  a  place 
called  the  Pantau,  between  the  towns  of  Carmarthen 
and  Laugharne ;  he  was  '  a  gifted  brother,  who 
sometimes  preached,'  in  the  dissenting  way.  One 
night,  when  he  was  at  prayer  alone  in  a  room  which 
stood  apart  from  his  house,  there  was  suddenly  a 
great  light  present,  which  made  the  light  of  the 
candle  no  longer  visible.  And  in  that  light  appeared 
a  band  of  angels,  like  children,  very  beautiful  in 
bright  clothing,  singing  in  Welsh  these  words : 

Pa  hyd  ?     Pa  hyd  ?     Dychwelwch  feibion  Adda  ! 
Pa  hyd .?     Pa  hyd  yr  erhdiwch  y  Cristnogion  duwiol  ? 

How  long  ?     How  long  ?     Return  ye  sons  of  Adam  ! 

How  long  ?     How  long  will  ye  persecute  the  godly  Christians  ?' 

After  a  time  they  departed  ;  reappeared  ;  departed 
again  ;  the  great  light  faded  ;  and  the  light  of  Mr. 
Thomas's  candle  was  once  more  visible  on  his  table. 
There  was  also  Rees  David,  a  man  of  more  than 
common  piety,  who  lived  in  Carmarthenshire,  near 
Whitlands.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  it  was  testified 
by  'several  religious  persons  who  were  in  the  room,' 
that  there  was  heard,  by  them  and  by  the  dying 
man,  the  singing  of  angels.  It  drew  nearer  and 
nearer  as  his  death-struggle  grew  imminent,  and 
after  his  death  they  '  heard  the  pleasant  incompar- 
able singing  gradually  depart,  until  it  was  out  of 
hearing.' 

That  the  dying  do  see  something  more,  in  the 
last  moment  of  expiring  nature,  than  it  is  given  to 


The  Spirit-World.  209 

living  eyes  to  see,  is  a  cherished  belief  by  numberless 
Christian  men  and  women,  whom  to  suspect  of 
superstitious  credulity  were  to  grossly  offend.  This 
belief  is  based  on  exclamations  uttered  by  the  dying, 
while  with  fixed  and  staring  eyes  they  appeared  to 
gaze  intently  at  some  object  not  visible  to  the  by- 
standers. But  that  the  bystanders  also  saw,  or 
heard,  voice  or  vision  from  the  Unknown,  is  not  often 

pretended. 

VII. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  euphemisms  in 
use  among  all  peoples  to  avoid  pronouncing  the 
name  of  the  devil.  That  many  good  folk  still 
consider  the  word  devil,  lightly  spoken,  a  profane 
utterance  only  second  to  a  similar  utterance  of  God's 
name,  is  a  curious  survival  of  old  superstitions.  No 
prohibition  of  this  sort  attaches  to  the  words  demon, 
fiend,  etc.,  nor  to  such  euphemisms,  common  in  both 
Welsh  and  English,  as  the  adversary,  the  evil  one, 
etc.  It  is  an  old  custom  in  North  Wales  to  spit  at 
the  name  of  the  devil,  even  when  so  innocently  used 
as  in  pronouncing  the  name  of  the  Devil's  Bridge. 
The  peasantry  prefer  to  call  the  bridge  '  Pont  y  Gwr 
Drwg,'  the  Bridge  of  the  Wicked  One  ;  and  spitting 
and  wiping  off  the  tongue  are  deemed  a  necessary 
precaution  after  saying  devil,  diafol,  or  diawl.  The 
phrase  '  I  hope  to  goodness,'  so  common  in  Wales 
and  elsewhere,  is  clearly  but  another  euphemism  for 
God  ;  the  goodness  meant  is  the  Divine  beneficence. 
'  Goodness'  sake '  is  but  a  contraction  of  '  For  God's 
sake!'  The  Hebrew  tetragrammaton  which  was 
invested  with  such  terror,  as  representing  the  great 
'  I  am,'  finds  an  explanation,  according  to  the  ideas 
of  Welsh  scholars,  in  the  Bardic  traditions.  These 
relate  that,  by  the  utterance  of  His  Name,  God 
created  this  world ;    the    Name  being  represented 


2IO  British  Goblins. 


by  the  symbol  /|\,  three  lines  which  typify  the 
focusing  of  the  rising  sun's  rays  at  the  equinoxes 
and  solstices.  The  first  ray  is  the  Creator,  the 
second  the  Preserver,  and  the  third  the  Destroyer ; 
the  whole  are  God's  Name.  This  name  cannot  be 
uttered  by  a  mortal ;  he  has  not  the  power ;  there- 
fore it  remains  for  ever  unuttered  on  earth.  At  the 
creation  the  universe  uttered  it  in  joy  at  the  new- 
born world  ;  *  the  morning  stars  sang  together.'  At 
the  last  day  it  will  be  uttered  again.  Till  then  it 
is  kept  a  secret,  lest  it  be  degraded,  as  it  has  been 
by  the  Hindus,  who,  from  the  three  rays  created 
their  three  false  gods,  Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Siva. 
Tradition  relates  that  Einigan  Gawr  saw  the  Divine 
Name  appear,  and  inscribed  it  on  three  rods  of 
mountain  ash.  The  people  mistook  the  three  rods 
thus  inscribed  for  God  himself,  and  Einigan  died 
from  grief  at  their  error. ^ 

VIII. 

The  devil  with  which  we  are  acquainted  is  ~ 
character  unknown  to  Greek  or  Roman  mythology ; 
this  devil  was  a  later  invention  ;  but  his  identity 
with  the  genii,  or  jinns  of  the  *  Arabian  Nights,'  the 
Divs  of  Persian  history,  is  clear  enough.  Ahriman, 
the  evil  spirit,  king  of  the  realms  of  darkness  and 
of  fire,  was  apparently  the  progenitor  of  Satan,  as 
Vritra  was  of  Ahriman.  Both  these  ancient  arch- 
fiends appeared  as  serpents  in  form,  and  were  myths 
representing  the  darkness,  slain  by  the  light,  or  the 
sun-god,  in  the  one  case  called  Indra,  in  the  other 
Ormuzd.  The  medieval  devil  with  horns  and  hoofs 
does  not  appear  in  the  records  of  Judaism.  He  is 
an  outgrowth  of  the  moral  principle  of  the  Christian 
era  ;    and    traced   to   his   origins    he   is    simply   a 

^  '  Dosparth  Edeyrn  Dafod  Aur,'  3. 


I 


The  Spirit-  World.  1 1 1 

personification  of  the  adversary  in  the  never-ending- 
struggle  on  earth  between  light  and  darkness. 
That  struggle  is  not,  in  nature,  a  moral  one  ;  but 
it  remains  to-day,  as  it  was  in  the  beginning,  the 
best  type  we  have  of  the  battle  between  right  and 
wrong,  and  between  truth  and  error.  When  God 
said,  '  Let  there  be  light,'  the  utterance  became 
the  symbol  and  guide  of  virtue,  of  brave  endeavour, 
and  of  scientific  research,  until  the  end. 


212  British  Goblins. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


I 


Cambrian  Death-Portents — The  Corpse-Bird — The  Tan-Wedd — List- 
ening at  the  Church-Door — The  Lledrith — The  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn — 
The  Llandaff  Gwrach — UgHness  of  this  Female  Apparition — The 
Black  Maiden — The  Cyhyraeth,  or  Crying  Spirit — Its  Moans  on 
Land  and  Sea — The  St.  Mellons  Cyhyraeth — The  Groaning  Spirit 
of  Bedwellty. 

I. 

There  are  death  portents  In  every  country,  and  in 
endless  variety ;  in  Wales  these  portents  assume 
distinct  and  striking  individuaHties,  in  great  number 
and  with  clearly  defined  attributes.  The  banshee, 
according  to  Mr.  Baring-Gould,  has  no  correspond- 
ing feature  in  Scandinavian,  Teutonic,  or  classic 
mythology,  and  belongs  entirely  to  the  Celts.  The 
Welsh  have  the  banshee  in  its  most  blood-curdling 
form  under  the  name  of  the  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn  ; 
they  have  also  the  Cyhyraeth,  which  Is  never  seen, 
but  Is  heard,  moaning  dolefully  and  dreadfully  in 
the  night  ;  the  Tolaeth,  also  only  heard,  not  groaning 
but  Imitating  some  earthly  sound,  such  as  sawing, 
singing,  or  the  tramping  of  feet ;  the  Cwn  Annwn 
and  Cwn  y  Wybr,  Dogs  of  Hell  and  Dogs  of  the 
Sky  ;  the  Canwyll  Corph,  or  Corpse  Candle  ;  the 
Teulu,  or  Goblin  Funeral,  and  many  others — all  of 
them  death-portents.  These,  as  the  more  Important 
and  striking,  I  will  describe  further ;  but  there  are 
several  others  which  must  first  be  mentioned. 

The  Aderyn  y  Corph  is  a  bird  which  chirps  at  the 
door  of  the  person  who  is  about  to  die,  and  makes 
a   noise   that    sounds    like    the    Welsh   word    for 


The  Spirit-World.  213 

'  Come  !  come  ! '  the  summons  to  death. ^  In  ancient 
tradition,  it  had  no  feathers  nor  wings,  soaring  with- 
out support  high  in  the  heavens,  and,  when  not 
engaged  upon  some  earthly  message,  dwelHng  in 
the  land  of  illusion  and  phantasy.^  This  corpse-bird 
may  properly  be  associated  with  the  superstition 
regarding  the  screech-owl,  whose  cry  near  a  sick-bed 
inevitably  portends  death.  The  untimely  crowing 
of  a  cock  also  foretells  the  sudden  demise  of  some 
member  of  the  family.  In  North  Wales  the  cry 
of  the  golden  plover  is  a  death-omen  ;  these  birds 
are  called,  in  this  connection,  the  whistlers.^  The 
same  superstition  prevails  in  Warwickshire,  and  the 
sound  is  called  the  seven  whistlers. 

Thunder  and  lightning  in  mid-winter  announce 
the  death  of  the  great  man  of  the  parish.  This 
superstition  is  thought  to  be  peculiar  to  Wales,  or 
to  the  wilder  and  more  secluded  parts  of  North 
Wales.*  Also  deemed  peculiar  to  Wales  is  the 
Tan-wedd,  a  fiery  apparition  which  falls  on  the 
lands  of  a  freeholder  who  is  about  to  die.  It  is 
described  as  appearing  somewhat  similar  to  falling 
stars,  but  slower  of  motion.  '  It  lighteneth  all  the 
air  and  ground  where  it  passeth,'  says  *  the  honest 
Welshman,  Mr.  Davis,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Baxter,' 
adding,  '  lasteth  three  or  four  miles  or  more,  for 
aught  is  known,  because  no  man  seeth  the  rising 
or  beginning  of  it ;  and  when  it  falls  to  the  ground 
it  sparkleth  and  lighteth  all  about.'  ^  It  also  comes 
as  a  duty-performing  goblin,  after  a  death,  haunting 
the  graveyard,  and  calling  attention  to  some  special 
grave  by  its  conduct,  as  in  the  following  account  : 
Walter   Watkins,  of  the    Neuadd,  in  a   parish   of 

^  '  Dewch  !  dewch  ! '  ^  <  Cymru  Fu,'  299. 

^  '  Camb.  Quarterly,'  iv.,  487.  "*  '  Arch.  Camb.'  4th  Se.,  iii.,  333. 

°  Brand,  '  Pop.  Ant.'  iii.,  127. 

P    2 


214  British  Goblins. 


I 


Brecknockshire,  was  going  one  dark  night  towards 
Taf  Fechan  Chapel,  not  far  from  his  house,  when 
he  saw  a  light  near  the  chapel.  It  increased  till 
it  was  as  big  as  a  church  tower,  and  decreased 
again  till  it  was  as  small  as  a  star ;  then  enlarged 
again  and  decreased  as  before  ;  and  this  it  did 
several  times.  He  went  to  his  house  and  fetched 
his  father  and  mother  to  see  it,  and  they  all  saw  it 
plainly,  much  to  their  astonishment  and  wonder. 
Some  time  after,  as  a  neighbour  was  ploughing  in 
a  field  near  the  chapel,  about  where  the  mysterious 
light  had  been  seen,  the  plough  struck  against  a  large 
flat  stone.  This  the  ploughman  raised  up,  after  a 
deal  of  difficulty,  and  under  it  he  found  a  stone  chest, 
in  which  was  the  jawbone  of  a  man,  and  nought 
else  except  an  earthen  jug.  The  bone  was  supposed 
to  be  the  remains  of  a  man  who  had  disappeared 
long  before,  and  whose  wife  had  since  married  ; 
and  on  her  being  told  of  it,  she  fell  ill  and  died. 
The  light,  which  had  often  been  seen  before  by 
various  persons,  was  after  this  seen  no  more.  It 
was  believed  to  be  the  spirit  of  the  murdered  man, 
appearing  as  a  light. 

Listening  at  the  church-door  in  the  dark,  to  hear 
shouted  by  a  ghostly  voice  in  the  deserted  edifice 
the  names  of  those  who  are  shortly  to  be  buried  in 
the  adjoining  churchyard,  is  a  Hallow  E'en  custom 
in  some  parts  of  Wales.  In  other  parts,  the  window 
serves  the  same  purpose.  There  are  said  to  be  still 
extant,  outside  some  village  churches,  steps  which 
were  constructed  in  order  to  enable  the  superstitious 
peasantry  to  climb  to  the  window  to  listen.  The 
principle  of  '  expectant  attention,'  so  well  known  to 
physiological  science,  would  be  likely  in  this  case 
to  act  with  special  force  as  a  ghost-raiser.  In  an 
ancient    MS.    by    Llywelyn    Sion,   of   Llangewydd, 


The  Spirit- World.  215 

there  is  mention  of  a  frightful  monster  called  the 
Fad  Felen,  which  was  seen  through  the  key-hole 
of  Rhos  church  by  Maelgwn  Gwynedd,  who  '  died 
in  consequence.'  This  monster  was  predicted  in 
a  poem  by  Taliesin,  as  a  '  strange  creature '  which 
should  come  from  the  sea  marsh,  with  hair  and 
teeth  and  eyes  like  gold.  The  yellow  fever  plague, 
which  raged  in  Wales  during  some  five  years  in  the 
sixth  century,  is  the  monster  referred  to  in  this 
legend. 

The  Scotch  wraith  and  Irish  fetch  have  their 
parallel  in  Wales  in  the  Lledrith,  or  spectre  of  a 
person  seen  before  his  death  ;  it  never  speaks,  and 
vanishes  if  spoken  to.  It  has  been  seen  by  miners 
previous  to  a  fatal  accident  in  the  mine.  The  story 
is  told  of  a  miner  who  saw  himself  lying  dead  and 
horribly  maimed  in  a  phantom  tram-car,  led  by  a 
phantom  horse,  and  surrounded  by  phantom  miners. 
As  he  watched  this  dreadful  group  of  spectres  they 
passed  on,  looking  neither  to  the  right  nor  the 
left,  and  faded  away.  The  miners  dog  was  as 
frightened  as  its  master  at  the  sight,  and  ran 
howling  into  the  darkness.  Though  deeming 
himself  doomed,  the  miner  continued  to  work  in 
the  pit ;  and  as  the  days  passed  on,  and  no  harm 
came  to  him,  he  grew  more  cheerful,  and  was  so 
bold  as  to  laugh  at  the  superstition.  The  day  he 
did  this,  a  stone  fell  from  the  roof  and  broke  his 
arm.  As  soon  as  he  recovered  he  resumed  work 
in  the  pit ;  his  death  followed  instantly.  A  stone 
crushed  him,  and  he  was  borne  maimed  and  dead 
in  the  tram  along  the  road  where  his  lledrith  had 
appeared,  '  a  mile  below  the  play  of  sunshine  and 
wave  of  trees.'  ^ 

The  Mallt  y  Nos,  or  night-fiend,  is  a  death-omen 

1  '  Tales  and  Sketches  of  Wales/  in  '  Weekly  Mail' 


2i6  British  Goblins, 


mentioned  by  Rev.  D.  R.  Thomas  in  the  '  Archaeo- 
logia  Cambrensis';  and  Croker^  gives  as  the  Welsh 
parallel  of  the  Irish  death-coach  a  spectre  called 
ceffyl  heb  un  pen,  or  the  headless  horse.  The 
marw  coel,  or  '  yellow  spot  before  death,'  is  another 
death-omen  which  I  have  been  able  to  trace  no 
further  than  the  pages  where  I  find  it.^ 


II. 

A    frightful   figure   among  Welsh   apparitions  is 

the  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn,  whose  crowning  distinction  is  1 

its  prodigious   ugliness.     The  feminine  pronoun  is  I 

generally  used   in    speaking   of  this   goblin,   which  \ 

unlike  the  majority  of  its  kind,   is  supposed  to  be  « 

a  female.     A  Welsh  saying,  regarding  one  of  her  | 

sex  who  is  the  reverse  of  lovely,  is,   '  Y  mae  mor  | 

salw  a  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn,'  (She  is  as  ugly  as  the  \ 

Gwrach  y  Rhibyn.)     The  spectre  is  a  hideous  being  I 

with  dishevelled  hair,  long  black  teeth,  long,  lank,  ^ 

withered   arms,   leathern   wings,   and  a  cadaverous  \ 

appearance.     In  the  stillness  of  night  it  comes  and  j 

flaps  its  wings  against  the  window,  uttering  at  the  j 

same   time  a  blood-curdling   howl,   and  calling  by  \ 

name  on  the  person  who  is  to  die,  in  a  lengthened  1 

dying    tone,    as    thus  :     '  Da-a-a-vy ! '     '  De-i-i-o-o-o  ■ 

ba-a-a-ch  1'     The  effect  of  its  shriek  or  howl  is  in-  \ 

describably   terrific,    and    its   sight   blasting  to    the  vj 

eyes   of  the   beholder.      It  is  always  an  omen  of  ; 

death,  though  its  warning  cry  is  heard  under  vary-  J 

ing  circumstances  ;  sometimes  it  appears  in  the  mist  "! 

on  the  mountain  side,  or  at  cross-roads,  or  by  a  piece  \ 

of  water  which  it  splashes  with  its   hands.     The  i 

gender   of  apparitions   is  no  doubt  as  a  rule   the  ^ 

neuter,   but  the  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn  defies  all  rules  j 


^  '  Fairy  Legends  of  the  South  of  Ireland,'  341. 
'  '  The  Vale  of  Glamorgan.' 


■ 


The  Spirit-World.  217 

by  being  a  female  which  at  times  sees  fit  to  be 
a  male.  In  its  female  character  it  has  a  trick  of 
crying  at  intervals,  in  a  most  doleful  tone,  '  Oh ! 
oh !  fy  ngwr,  fy  ngwr !'  (my  husband !  my  hus- 
band !)  But  when  it  chooses  to  be  a  male,  this 
cry  is  changed  to  *  Fy  ngwraig !  fy  ngwraig!'  (my 
wife  !  my  wife  !)  or  '  Fy  mlentyn,  fy  mlentyn  bach  !' 
(my  child,  my  little  child  !)  There  is  a  frightful 
story  of  a  dissipated  peasant  who  met  this  goblin 
on  the  road  one  night,  and  thought  it  was  a  living 
woman ;  he  therefore  made  wicked  and  improper 
overtures  to  it,  with  the  result  of  having  his  soul 
nearly  frightened  out  of  his  body  in  the  horror 
of  discovering  his  mistake.  As  he  emphatically 
exclaimed,  '  Och,  Dduw !  it  was  the  Gwrach  y 
Rhibyn,  and  not  a  woman  at  all.' 

III. 

The  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn  recently  appeared,  accord- 
ing to  an  account  given  me  by  a  person  who  claimed 
to  have  seen  it,  at  Llandaff.  Surely,  no  more 
probable  site  for  the  appearance  of  a  spectre  so 
ancient  of  lineage  could  be  found,  than  that  ancient 
cathedral  city  where  some  say  was  the  earliest 
Christian  fane  in  Great  Britain,  and  which  was 
certainly  the  seat  of  the  earliest  Christian  bishopric. 
My  narrator  was  a  respectable-looking  man  of  the 
peasant-farmer  class,  whom  I  met  in  one  of  my 
walks  near  Cardiff,  in  the  summer  of  1878.  *  It  was 
at  Llandaff,'  he  said  to  me,  '  on  the  fourteenth  of 
last  November,  when  I  was  on  a  visit  to  an  old 
friend,  that  I  saw  and  heard  the  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn. 
I  was  sleeping  in  my  bed,  and  was  woke  at  midnight 
by  a  frightful  screeching  and  a  shaking  of  my 
window.  It  was  a  loud  and  clear  screech,  and  the 
shaking  of  the  window  was  very  plain,  but  it  seemed 


2 1 B  ^BruufiUoolins. 


to  go  by  like  the  wind.  I  was  not  so  much 
frightened,  sir,  as  you  may  think  ;  excited  I  was — 
that's  the  word — excited  ;  and  I  jumped  out  of  bed 
and  rushed  to  the  window  and  flung  it  open.  Then 
I  saw  the  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn,  saw  her  plainly,  sir,  a 
horrible  old  woman  with  long  red  hair  and  a  face 
like  chalk,  and  great  teeth  like  tusks,  looking  back 
over  her  shoulder  at  me  as  she  went  through  the  air 
with  a  long  black  gown  trailing  along  the  ground 
below  her  arms,  for  body  I  could  make  out  none. 
She  gave  another  unearthly  screech  while  I  looked 
at  her ;  then  I  heard  her  flapping  her  wings  against 
the  window  of  a  house  just  below  the  one  I  was  in, 
and  she  vanished  from  my  sight.  But  I  kept  on 
staring  into  the  darkness,  and  as  I  am  a  living  man, 
sir,  I  saw  her  go  in  at  the  door  of  the  Cow  and 
Snuffers  Inn,  and  return  no  more.  I  watched  the 
door  of  the  inn  a  long  time,  but  she  did  not  come 
out.  The  next  day,  it's  the  honest  truth  I'm 
telling  you,  they  told  me  the  man  who  kept  the 
Cow  and  Snuffers  Inn  was  dead — had  died  in  the 
night.  His  name  was  Llewellyn,  sir — you  can  ask 
any  one  about  him,  at  Llandaff — he  had  kept  the 
inn  there  for  seventy  years,  and  his  family  before 
him  for  three  hundred  years,  just  at  that  very  spot. 
It's  not  these  new  families  that  the  Gwrach  y 
Rhibyn  ever  troubles,  sir,  it's  the  old  stock.'  i 


In^^    ' 


The  close  resemblance  of  this  goblin  to  the 
banshee  (or  benshi)  will  be  at  once  perceived.  The 
same  superstition  is  found  among  other  peoples  of 
Celtic  origin.  Sir  Walter  Scott  mentions  it  among 
the  highlands  of  Scotland.^  It  is  not  traced  among 
other  than  Celtic  peoples  distinctly,  but  its  associa- 

^  '  Demonology  and  Witchcraft,'  351. 


i 


The  Spirit- World.  219 

tion  with  the  primeval  mythology  is  doubtless  to  be 
found  in  the  same  direction  with  many  other  death- 
omens,  to  wit,  the  path  of  the  wind-god  Hermes. 

The  frightful  ugliness  of  the  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn  is 
a  consistent  feature  of  the  superstition,  in  both  its 
forms  ;  it  recalls  the  Black  Maiden  who  came  to 
Caerleon  and  liberated  Peredur  :  ^  '  Blacker  were 
her  face  and  her  two  hands  than  the  blackest  iron 
covered  with  pitch ;  and  her  hue  was  not  more 
frightful  than  her  form.  High  cheeks  had  she,  and 
a  face  lengthened  downwards,  and  a  short  nose  with 
distended  nostrils.  And  one  eye  was  of  a  piercing 
mottled  gray,  and  the  other  was  as  black  as  jet, 
deep-sunk  in  her  head.  And  her  teeth  were  long 
and  yellow,  more  yellow  were  they  than  the  flower 
of  the  broom.  And  her  stomach  rose  from  the 
breast-bone,  higher  than  her  chin.  And  her  back 
was  in  the  shape  of  a  crook,  and  her  legs  were  large 
and  bony.  And  her  figure  was  very  thin  and  spare, 
except  her  feet  and  legs,  which  were  of  huge  size.' 
The  Welsh  word  '  gwrach '  means  a  hag  or  witch, 
and  it  has  been  fancied  that  there  is  a  connection 
between  this  word  and  the  mythical  Avagddu,^ 
whose  wife  the  gwrach  was. 

The  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn  appears  also  as  a  river- 
spectre,  in  Glamorganshire. 

V. 

A  death-portent  which  is  often  confused  with  the 
Gwrach  y  Rhibyn,  yet  which  is  rendered  quite  dis- 
tinct by  its  special  attributes,  is  the  Cyhyraeth. 
This  is  a  groaning  spirit.  It  is  never  seen,  but  the 
noise  it  makes  is  no  less  terrible  to  the  ear  than  the 

^  '  Mabinogion,'  114. 

^  Avagddu  means  both  hell   and  the  devil,  as   our  word    Heaven 
means  both  the  Deity  and  his  abode. 


220  British  Goblins, 


I 


appearance  of  Its  visible  sister  Is  to  the  eye.  Among 
groaning  spirits  It  Is  considered  to  be  the  chief.  The 
Prophet  Jones  succinctly  characterises  It  as  '  a  dole- 
ful, dreadful  noise  In  the  night,  before  a  burying.' 
David  Prosser,  of  Llanybyther  parish,  '  a  sober,  sen- 
sible man  and  careful  to  tell  the  truth,'  once  heard 
the  Cyhyraeth  in  the  early  part  of  the  night,  his 
wife  and  maid-servant  being  together  In  the  house, 
and  also  hearing  it ;  and  when  it  came  opposite  the 
window.  It  '  pronounced  these  strange  words,  of  no 
signification  that  we  know  of,'  viz.  '  Woolach  I 
Woolach  I '  Some  time  afterward  a  funeral  passed 
that  way.  The  judicious  Joshua  Coslet,  who  lived 
by  the  river  Towy  in  Carmarthenshire,  testified 
that  the  Cyhyraeth  Is  often  heard  there,  and  that  it 
is  '  a  doleful,  disagreeable  sound  heard  before  the 
deaths  of  many,  and  most  apt  to  be  heard  before 
foul  weather.  The  voice  resembles  the  groaning  of 
sick  persons  who  are  to  die  ;  heard  at  first  at  a  dis- 
tance, then  comes  nearer,  and  the  last  near  at  hand ; 
so  that  it  Is  a  threefold  warning  of  death.  It  begins 
strong,  and  louder  than  a  sick  man  can  make ;  the 
second  cry  is  lower,  but  not  less  doleful,  but  rather 
more  so ;  the  third  yet  lower,  and  soft,  like  the 
groaning  of  a  sick  man  almost  spent  and  dying.'  A 
person  'well  remembering  the  voice'  and  coming  to 
the  sick  man's  bed,  'shall  hear  his  groans  exactly 
like'  those  which  he  had  before  heard  from  the 
Cyhyraeth.  This  crying  spirit  especially  affected 
the  twelve  parishes  in  the  hundred  of  Inis  Cenin, 
which  lie  on  the  south-east  side  of  the  river  Towy, 
*  where  some  time  past  it  groaned  before  the  death 
of  every  person  who  lived  that  side  of  the  country.' 
It  also  sounded  before  the  death  of  persons  'who 
were  born  in  these  parishes,  but  died  elsewhere.' 
Sometimes  the  voice  is  heard  long  before  death,  but 


The  Spirit-World.  221 

not  longer  than  three  quarters  of  a  year.  So  com- 
mon was  it  in  the  district  named,  that  among  the 
people  there  a  familiar  form  of  reproach  to  any  one 
making  a  disagreeable  noise,  or  '  children  crying  or 
groaning  unreasonable,'  was  to  ejaculate,  '  Oh  'r 
Cyhyraeth ! '  A  reason  why  the  Cyhyraeth  was 
more  often  heard  in  the  hundred  of  Inis  Cenin  was 
thought  to  be  that  Non,  the  mother  of  St.  David, 
lived  in  those  parts,  where  a  village  is  called  after 
her  name,  Llan-non,  the  church  of  Non. 

On  the  southern  sea-coast,  in  Glamorganshire, 
the  Cyhyraeth  is  sometimes  heard  by  the  people 
in  the  villages  on  shore  passing  down  the  channel 
with  loud  moans,  while  those  dismal  lights  which 
forebode  a  wreck  are  seen  playing  along  the  waves. 
Watchers  by  the  sea-shore  have  also  heard  its  moan 
far  out  on  the  ocean,  gradually  drawing  nearer  and 
nearer,  and  then  dying  away ;  and  when  they 
thought  it  gone  it  has  suddenly  shrieked  close  to 
their  startled  ears,  chilling  their  very  marrows. 
Then,  long  after,  they  would  hear  it,  now  faint,  now 
loud,  going  along  the  sands  into  the  distant  darkness. 
One  or  more  corpses  were  usually  washed  ashore 
soon  after.  In  the  villages  the  Cyhyraeth  is  heard 
passing  through  the  empty  streets  and  lanes  by 
night,  groaning  dismally,  sometimes  rattling  the 
window-shutters,  or  flinging  open  the  door  as  it 
flits  by.  When  going  along  the  country  lanes  it 
will  thus  horrify  the  inmates  of  every  house  it 
passes.  Some  old  people  say  it  is  only  heard 
before  the  death  of  such  as  are  of  strayed  mind, 
or  who  have  long  been  ill ;  but  it  always  comes 
when  an  epidemic  is  about  to  visit  the  neighbour- 
hood. 

A  tradition  of  the  Cyhyraeth  is  connected  with 
the  parish  churchyard  at  St.  Mellons,  a  quaint  old- 


222  British  Goblifts. 


fashioned  village  within  easy  tramping  distance  of 
Cardiff,  but  in  Monmouthshire.  It  is  of  a  boy  who 
was  sent  on  an  errand,  and  who  heard  the  Cyhyraeth 
crying  in  the  churchyard,  first  in  one  place,  then  in 
another,  and  finally  in  a  third  place,  where  it  rested. 
Some  time  after,  a  corpse  was  brought  to  that 
churchyard  to  be  buried,  but  some  person  came  and 
claimed  the  grave.  They  went  to  another  place, 
but  that  also  was  claimed.  Then  they  went  to 
a  third  place,  and  there  they  were  allowed  to  bury 
their  dead  in  peace.  And  this  going  about  with  the 
corpse  was  *just  the  same  as  the  boy  declared  it.' 
Of  course  the  boy  could  not  know  what  was  to 
come  to  pass,  *  but  this  crying  spirit  knew  exactly 
what  would  come  to  pass.'  I  was  also  told  by  a 
person  at  St.  Mellons  that  a  ghost  had  been  seen 
sitting  upon  the  old  stone  cross  which  stands  on  the 
hillside  near  the  church. 

VI. 

Other  groaning  spirits  are  sometimes  heard.  A 
girl  named  Mary  Morgan,  living  near  Crumlyn 
Bridge,  while  standing  on  the  bridge  one  evening 
was  seized  with  mortal  terror  on  hearing  a  groaning 
voice  going  up  the  river,  uttering  the  words,  *  O 
Dduw,  beth  a  wnaf  fi  ?'  (O  God,  what  shall  I  do  ?) 
many  times  repeated,  amid  direful  groans.  The 
conclusion  of  this  narration  is  a  hopeless  mystery, 
as  Mary  fainted  away  with  her  fright. 

Much  more  satisfactory,  as  a  ghost-story  with  a 
moral,  is  the  tale  of  the  groaning  spirit  of  Bedwellty.^ 
There  was  one  night  a  wake  at  the  house  of 
Meredith  Thomas,  over  the  body  of  his  four-year- 
old  child,  at  which  two  profane  men  (named  Thomas 
Edward  Morgan  and  Anthony  Aaron)  began  playing 

*  Jones,  *  Apparitions,'  24. 


The  Spirit-World,  223 

at  cards,  and  swearing  most  horribly.  In  the  parish 
of  BedweUty,  the  wakes — or  watch-nights,  as  they 
are  more  commonly  called  in  Wales — were  at  that 
time  very  profanely  kept.  '  Few  besides  the  dis- 
senters,' says  Jones  (who  was  himself  a  dissenter,  it 
must  be  remembered),  '  had  the  sense  and  courage 
to  forbid'  this  wickedness,  but  *  suffered  it  as  a 
custom,  because  the  pretence  was  to  divert  the 
relations  of  the  dead,  and  lessen  their  sorrows.' 
While  the  aforementioned  profane  men  were  playing 
cards  and  swearing,  suddenly  a  dismal  groaning 
noise  was  heard  at  the  window.  At  this  the  com- 
pany was  much  frightened,  excepting  the  card- 
players,  who  said  '  Pw  ! '  and  went  on  playing.  But 
to  pacify  the  rest  of  the  company  they  finally  desisted, 
and  at  once  the  groaning  ceased.  Soon  after  they 
began  playing  again,  when  at  once  the  groaning 
set  up  in  most  lamentable  tones,  so  that  people 
shuddered ;  but  the  profane  men  again  said,  *  Pw  ! 
it  is  some  fellow  playing  tricks  to  frighten  us.' 
'  No,'  said  William  Harry  Rees,  a  good  man  of  the 
Baptist  persuasion,  '  it  is  no  human  being  there 
groaning,  but  a  spirit,'  and  again  he  desired  them 
to  give  over.  But  though  they  were  so  bold  with 
their  card-playing,  these  wicked  men  had  not  the 
hardihood  to  venture  out  and  see  who  it  was 
'  playing  tricks,'  as  they  called  it.  However,  one 
of  the  company  said,  *  I  will  go,  and  take  the  dogs 
with  me,  and  see  if  there  be  any  human  being  there.' 
The  groaning  still  continued.  This  bold  person 
then  *  took  the  prime  staff,  and  began  to  call  the 
dogs  to  go  with  him  ;'  but  the  dogs  could  not  be 
induced  to  go  out,  being  in  great  terror  at  the 
groaning  noise,  and  sought  to  hide  themselves 
under  the  stools,  and  about  the  people's  feet.  In 
vain   they  beat  the  dogs,  and  kicked  and  scolded 


224 


British  Goblins. 


them,  outdoor  they  would  not  go.  This  at  last 
convinced  the  profane  men,  and  they  left  off  play- 
ing, for  fear  the  devil  should  come  among  them. 
For  it  was  told  in  other  places  that  people  had 
played  cards  till  his  sulphurous  majesty  appeared  in 
person. 


(       225       ) 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Tolaeth  Death  Portent— Its  various  Forms— The  Tolaeth  before 
Death—  Ewythr  Jenkin's  Tolaeth — A  modern  Instance — The  Rail- 
way Victim's  Warning — The  Goblin  Voice — The  Voice  from  the 
Cloud — Legend  of  the  Lord  and  the  Beggar — The  Goblin  Funeral 
—The  Horse's  Skull— The  Goblin  Veil— The  Wraith  of  Llanllwch 
— Dogs  of  Hell — The  Tale  of  Pwyll — Spiritual  Hunting  Dogs  — 
Origin  of  the  Cwn  Annwn. 

I. 

The  Tolaeth  is  an  ominous  sound,  imitating  some 
earthly  sound  of  one  sort  or  another,  and  always 
heard  before  either  a  funeral  or  some  dreadful 
catastrophe.  Carpenters  of  a  superstitious  turn  of 
mind  will  tell  you  that  they  invariably  hear  the 
Tolaeth  when  they  are  going  to  receive  an  order  to 
make  a  coffin  ;  in  this  case  the  sound  is  that  of  the 
sawing  of  wood,  the  hammering  of  nails,  and  the 
turning  of  screws,  such  as  are  heard  in  the  usual 
process  of  making  a  coffin.  This  is  called  the 
*  Tolaeth  before  the  Coffin.'  The  '  Tolaeth  before 
Death '  is  a  supernatural  noise  heard  about  the 
house,  such  as  a  knocking,  or  the  sound  of  footsteps 
in  the  dead  of  night.  Sometimes  it  is  the  sound  of 
a  tolling  bell,  where  no  bell  is  ;  and  the  direction 
in  which  the  ear  is  held  at  the  time  points  out  the 
place  of  the  coming  death.  Formerly  the  veritable 
church-bell  in  its  steeple  would  foretell  death,  by 
tolling  thrice  at  the  hour  of  midnight,  unrung  by 
human  hands.  The  bell  of  Blaenporth,  Cardigan- 
shire, was  noted  for  thus  warning  the  neighbours. 
The  '  Tolaeth  before  the  Burying '  is  the  sound  of 
the  funeral  procession  passing  by,  unseen,  but  heard. 


226  British  Goblins, 


The  voices  are  heard  singing  the  '  Old  Hundredth/ 
which  is  the  psalm  tune  usually  sung  by  funeral 
bands  ;  the  slow  regular  tramp  of  the  feet  is  heard, 
and  the  sobbing  and  groaning  of  the  mourners. 
The  Tolaeth  touches  but  one  sense  at  a  time.  When 
this  funeral  procession  is  heard  it  cannot  be  seen. 
But  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  Tolaeth  that  .after  it 
has  been  heard  by  the  ear,  it  sometimes  makes  itself 
known  to  the  eye  also — but  in  silence.  The  funeral 
procession  will  at  first  be  heard,  and  then  if  the 
hearer  stoop  forward  and  look  along  the  ground, 
it  may  perhaps  be  seen  ;  the  psalm-singers,  two 
abreast,  with  their  hats  off  and  their  mouths  open, 
as  in  the  act  of  singing ;  the  coffin,  borne  on  the 
shoulders  of  four  men  who  hold  their  hats  by  the 
side  of  their  heads  ;  the  mourners,  the  men  with 
long  black  hatbands  streaming  behind,  the  women 
pale  and  sorrowful,  with  upheld  handkerchiefs ;  and 
the  rest  of  the  procession  stretching  away  dimly 
into  shadow.  Not  a  sound  is  heard,  either  of  foot 
or  voice,  although  the  singers'  mouths  are  open. 
After  the  procession  has  passed,  and  the  observer 
has  risen  from  his  stooping  posture,  the  Tolaeth 
again  breaks  on  the  ear,  the  music,  the  tread  of 
feet,  and  the  sobbing,  as  before.  A  real  funeral  is 
sure  to  pass  that  way  not  long  afterwards. 

This  form  of  the  Tolaeth  should  not  be  confused 
with  the  Teulu,  or  Goblin  Funeral  proper,  which  is 
a  death-warning  occupying  its  own  place. 

II. 

John  Clode,  an  honest  labouring  man  living  on 
the  coast  of  Glamorganshire,  near  the  Sker  Rocks, 
had  just  gone  to  bed  one  night,  when  he  and  his 
wife  heard  the  door  open,  the  tread  of  shuffling  feet, 
the  moving  about  of  chairs,  and  the  grunting  of  men 


The  Spirit-World.  227 

as  if  setting  down  a  load.  This  was  all  in  the  room 
where  they  lay,  it  being  the  only  room  their  cottage 
afforded,  except  the  one  upstairs.  '  John,  John  ! ' 
cried  his  wife  in  alarm,  '  what  is  this  ?  '  In  vain 
John  rubbed  his  eyes  and  stared  into  the  darkness. 
Nothing  could  he  see.  Two  days  afterward  their 
only  son  was  brought  home  drowned ;  and  his 
corpse  being  borne  into  the  house  upon  a  ladder, 
there  were  the  same  noises  of  opening  the  door,  the 
shuffling  of  feet,  the  moving  of  chairs,  the  setting 
down  of  the  burden,  that  the  Tolaeth  had  touched 
their  ears  with.  '  John,  John  ! '  murmured  poor  Mrs. 
Clode  ;  '  this  is  exactly  what  I  heard  in  the  night.' 
*  Yes,  wife,'  quoth  John,  *  it  was  the  Tolaeth  before 
Death; 

Before  Ewythr  Jenkin  of  Nash  died,  his  daughter 
Gwenllian  heard  the  Tolaeth.  She  had  taken  her 
old  father's  breeches  from  under  his  pillow  to  mend 
them  (for  he  was  very  careful  always  to  fold  and  put 
his  breeches  under  his  pillow,  especially  if  there  was 
a  sixpence  in  the  pocket),  and  just  as  she  was  about 
sitting  down  at  the  table  on  which  she  had  thrown 
them,  there  came  a  loud  rap  on  the  table,  which 
startled  her  very  much.  *  Oh,  Jenny,  what  was 
that  ?'  she  asked  of  the  servant  girl ;  but  Jenny 
could  only  stare  at  her  mistress,  more  frightened 
than  herself.  Again  did  Gwenllian  essay  to  sit 
and  take  the  breeches  in  hand,  when  there  came 
upon  the  table  a  double  rap,  much  louder  than  the 
first,  a  rap,  in  fact,  that  made  all  the  chairs  and 
kettles  ring.     So  then  Gwenllian  fainted  away. 

At  a  place  called  by  its  owner  Llynwent,  in 
Radnorshire,  at  a  certain  time  the  man  of  the  house 
and  his  wife  were  gone  from  home.  The  rest  of 
the  family  were  sitting  at  supper,  when  three  of  the 
servants  heard  the  sound  of  horses  coming  toward 

Q 


228  B^^itish  Goblins. 


the  house,  and  cried  out,  '  There,  they  are  coming  T 
thinking  it  was  their  master  and  mistress  returning 
home.  But  on  going  out  to  meet  them,  there  was 
nobody  near.  They  re-entered  the  house,  some- 
what uneasy  in  their  minds  at  this  strange  thing, 
and  clustered  about  the  fire,  with  many  expressions 
of  wonderment.  While  they  were  so  seated,  '  Hark  !' 
said  one,  and  all  listening  intently,  heard  footsteps 
passing  by  them  and  going  up  stairs,  and  voices  of 
people  talking  among  themselves.  Not  long  after- 
ward three  of  the  family  fell  sick  and  died. 


I 


{ 


III. 

An  instance  of  recent  occurrence  is  given  by  a  \ 

local    newspaper    correspondent   writing    from    the  \ 

scene  of  a  Welsh  railway  accident  in  October,  1878.  j 

It  was  at  Pontypridd,  famous  the  world  over  for  \ 

its  graceful  bridge,   (now   old   and  superannuated,)  j 

and  renowned  in  Druidic  story  as  a  seat  of  learning.  ': 
A  victim  of  the  railway  accident  was,  a  few  days 

before    the  collision,    '  sitting  with   his  wife   at   the  .] 

fireside,  when  he  had  an  omen.     The  house  was  1 

still,  and  they  were  alone,  only  a  little  servant  girl  \ 

being  with  them.    Then,  while  so  sitting  and  talking,  j 

they  both    heard   a   heavy  footstep  ascending   the  I 

stairs,  step  by  step,  step  by  step,  as   that   of  one  j 

carrying  a  burden.     They  looked  at  one  another,  \ 

and    the    husband  called,    "  Run,    Mary,    upstairs ;  \ 

some  one  has  gone  up."     Mary  did  run,  but  there  i 
was  no  one.     She  was  told  to  look  in  every  room, 

and  she  did  so,   and   it   was  put   down   as   fancy.  \ 

When    the    news  was  borne  to   the   poor  wife   on  i 

Saturday  night,  she  started  up   and    said,   *'  There  I 

now,    that   was   the   omen ! '"  ^     That   his   readers  J 
may  not  by  any  perversity  fail  to  understand  him  as 

1  'Western  Mail,'  Oct.  23,  1878. 


I 


The  Spirit' World.  229 

alluding  to  the  Tolaeth  before  Death,  our  newspaper 
correspondent  states  his  creed  :  *  I  believe  in  omens. 
I  knew  a  lady  who  heard  distinctly  three  raps  at 
her  door.  Another  lady  was  sitting  with  her  near 
it  too.  The  door  was  an  inner  door.  No  servant 
was  in  the  house.  The  two  ladies  heard  it,  and 
yet  no  human  hand  touched  that  door,  and  at  the 
time  when  the  knock  was  heard  a  dear  brother  was 
dying.  I  know  of  strange  things  of  this  sort.  Of 
voices  crying  the  names  of  half-sleeping  relatives 
when  the  waves  were  washing  some  one  dear  away 
to  the  mighty  deep  ;  but  then  the  world  laughs  at 
all  this  and  the  world  goes  on.'  The  correspondent 
is  severe  ;  there  is  nothing  here  to  laugh  at. 

IV. 

The  Tolaeth  has  one  other  form — that  of  a  Voice 
which  speaks,  in  a  simple  and  natural  manner,  but 
very  significant  words.  Thus  Edward  Lloyd,  in 
the  parish  of  Llangurig,  was  lying  very  ill,  when  the 
people  that  were  with  him  in  his  chamber  heard  a 
voice  near  them,  but  could  see  no  one  ;  nor  could 
they  find  any  one  anywhere  about  the  house,  to 
whom  the  voice  might  belong.  Soon  afterwards 
they  heard  it  utter,  so  distinctly  that  it  seemed  to  be 
in  the  room  where  they  were,  these  words,  '  Y  mae 
nenbren  y  ty  yn  craccio,'  (the  upper  beam  of  the 
house  cracketh.)  Soon  the  Voice  spoke  again, 
saying,  '  Fe  dor  yn  y  man,'  (it  will  presently  break.) 
And  once  more  it  spoke :  '  Dyna  fe  yn  tori,'  (there 
it  breaks.)  That  moment  the  sick  man  gave  up 
the  ghost. 

John,  the  son  of  Watkin  Elias  Jones,  of  the  parish 
of  Mynyddyslwyn,  was  one  day  ploughing  in  the 
field,  when  the  oxen  rested,  and  he  sent  the  lad 
who  drove  the  oxen,  to  fetch  something  which  he 

Q  2 


230  British  Goblins. 


fl 


wanted  ;  and  while  thus  alone  in  the  fieir"'  he  saw 
a  cloud  coming  across  the  field  to  him.  When  the 
cloud  had  come  to  that  part  of  the  field  where  he 
was,  it  stopped,  and  shadowed  the  sun  fi-om  him  ; 
and  out  of  the  cloud  came  a  Voice,  which  asked 
him  which  of  these  three  diseases  he  would  choose 
to  die  of — fever,  dropsy,  or  consumption.  Being 
a  man  who  could  give  a  plain  answer  to  a  plain 
question,  he  replied  that  he  would  rather  die  of 
consumption.  The  lad  now  returning,  he  sent  him 
home  with  the  oxen,  and  then,  feeling  inclined  to 
sleep,  lay  down  and  slept.  When  he  awoke  he  was 
ill,  and  fell  by  degrees  into  a  consumption,  of  which 
he  died  one  year  from  the  day  of  this  warning.  He 
did  not  tell  of  this  apparition,  however,  until  within 
six  weeks  of  his  death. 

V. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  legends  in  the  lolo 
MSS.  gives  an  ancient  tale  of  the  Tolaeth  which 
may  be  thus  condensed :  A  great  and  wealthy  lord, 
rich  in  land,  houses  and  gold,  enjoying  all  the 
luxuries  of  life,  heard  a  voice  proclaim  thrice  dis- 
tinctly :  *  The  greatest  and  richest  man  of  this 
parish  shall  die  to-night.'  At  this  he  was  sadly 
troubled,  for  he  knew  that  the  greatest  and  richest 
man  of  that  parish  could  be  no  other  than  he  ;  so 
he  sent  for  the  physician,  but  made  ready  for  death. 
Great,  however,  was  his  joy  when  the  night  passed, 
the  day  broke,  and  he  was  yet  alive.  At  sunrise 
the  church  bell  was  heard  tolling,  and  the  lord  sent 
in  haste  to  know  who  was  dead.  Answer  came 
that  it  was  an  old  blind  beggar  man,  who  had 
asked,  and  been  refused,  alms  at  the  great  man's 
gate.  Then  the  lord  knew  the  meaning  of  the 
warning  voice  he  had  heard  :  that  very  great  and 


The  Spirit- World.  231 

very  rich  man  had  been  the  poor  beggar  —  his 
treasures  and  weahh  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
He  took  the  warning  wisely  to  heart,  endowed 
rehgious  houses,  reheved  all  who  were  in  poverty, 
and  when  at  last  he  was  dying,  the  voices  of  angels 
were  heard  to  sing  a  hymn  of  welcome  ;  and  he 
was  buried,  according  to  his  desire,  in  the  old 
beggar's  grave. ^ 

VI. 

Of  the  Teulu,  or  Goblin  Funeral,  a  death-portent 
of  wide  prevalence  in  Wales,  numberless  stories 
are  told.  This  omen  is  sometimes  a  form  of  the 
Tolaeth,  but  in  itself  constitutes  an  omen  which  is 
simple  and  explicit.  A  funeral  procession  is  seen 
•  passing  down  the  road,  and  at  the  same  time  it  is 
heard.  It  has  no  shadowy  goblin  aspect,  but 
appears  to  be  a  real  funeral.  Examination  shows 
its  shadowy  nature.  Subsequently  a  real  funeral 
passes  the  same  way,  and  is  recognised  as  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  omen.  The  goblin  funeral  precedes 
the  other  sometimes  by  days,  sometimes  by  weeks. 
Rees  Thomas,  a  carpenter  of  Carmarthenshire,  pass- 
ing by  night  through  Rhiw  Edwst,  near  Capel 
Ywen,  heard  a  stir  as  of  a  procession  of  people 
coming  towards  him,  walking  and  speaking ;  and 
when  they  were  close  to  him  he  felt  the  touch  of 
an  unseen  hand  upon  his  shoulder,  and  a  voice 
saying  to  him,  *  Rhys  bach,  pa  fodd  yr  y'ch  chwi  ? ' 
(my  dear  Rees,  how  are  you  ?)  A  month  after, 
passing  that  way  again,  he  met  a  funeral  in  that 
very  place,  and  a  woman  of  the  company  put  her 
hand  upon  his  shoulder  and  spoke  exactly  the  same 
Welsh  words  to  him  that  the  invisible  spirit  had 
spoken.  Rev.  Howel  Prosser,  many  years  ago 
curate   of  Aberystruth,   late    one    evening    saw   a 

1  lolo  MSS.,  592. 


I 


232  British  Goblins. 

funeral  procession  going  down  the  church  lane. 
Supposing  it  to  be  the  funeral  of  a  man  who  had 
recently  died  in  the  upper  part  of  his  parish,  yet 
wondering  he  had  not  been  notified  of  the  burial, 
he  put  on  his  band  in  order  to  perform  his  office 
over  the  dead,  and  hastened  to  meet  the  procession. 
But  when  he  came  to  it  he  saw  that  it  was  com- 
posed of  strangers,  whom  he  had  never  seen  before. 
Nevertheless,  he  laid  his  hand  on  the  bier,  to  help 
carry  the  corpse,  when  instantly  the  whole  vanished, 
and  he  was  alone  ;  but  in  his  hand  he  found  the 
skull  of  a  dead  horse.  '  Mr.  Prosser  was  my  school- 
master, and  a  right  honest  man,*  says  Edmund 
J  ones,  ^  who  is  responsible  for  this  story,  as  well  as 
for  the  ensuing  :  Isaac  William  Thomas,  who  lived 
not  far  from  Hafodafel,  once  met  a  Goblin  Funeral 
coming  down  the  mountain  toward  Llanhiddel  church. 
He  stood  in  a  field  adjoining  the  highway,  and 
leaned  against  the  stone  wall.  The  funeral  came 
close  to  the  other  side  of  the  wall,  and  as  the  bier 
passed  him  he  reached  forth  his  hand  and  took  off 
the  black  veil  which  was  over  the  bier.  This  he 
carried  to  his  home,  where  many  people  saw  it. 
'  It  was  made  of  some  exceeding  fine  stuff,  so  that 
when  folded  it  was  a  very  little  substance,  and  very 
light.'  That  he  escaped  being  hurt  for  this  bold  act 
was  long  the  marvel  of  the  parish  ;  but  it  was  be- 
lieved, by  their  going  aside  to  come  so  near  him,  that 
the  goblins  were  willing  he  should  do  as  he  did. 

An  old  man  who  resided  near  Llanllwch  church, 
in  Carmarthenshire,  used  to  assert  in  the  most 
solemn  manner  that  he  had  seen  the  Teulu  going 
to  church  again  and  again.  On  a  certain  evening 
hearing  one  approaching,  he  peeped  over  a  wall  to 
look  at  it.     The  persons  composing  the  procession 

*  'Account  of  the  Parish  of  Abt  rystruth,'  17. 


The  Spirit-World.  233 

were  all  acquaintances  of  his,  with  the  exception  of 
one  who  stood  apart  from  the  rest,  gazing  mourn- 
fully at  them,  and  who  appeared  to  be  a  stranger. 
Soon  afterwards  there  was  a  real  burying,  and  the 
old  man,  determined  to  see  if  there  would  be  in  the 
scene  any  resemblance  to  his  last  Teulu,  went  to 
the  churchyard  and  waited.  When  the  procession 
arrived,  all  were  there  as  he  had  seen  them,  except 
the  stranger.  Looking  about  him  curiously,  the  old 
man  was  startled  by  the  discovery  that  he  was 
himself  the  stranger  !  He  was  standing  on  the 
identical  spot  where  had  stood  the  man  he  did  not 
recognise  when  he  saw  the  Teulu.  It  was  his  own 
ghost. 

VII. 

The  death  portent  called  Cwn  Annwn,  or  Dogs 
of  Hell,  is  a  pack  of  hounds  which  howl  through 
the  air  with  a  voice  frightfully  disproportionate  to 
their  size,  full  of  a  wild  sort  of  lamentation.  There 
is  a  tradition  that  one  of  them  once  fell  on  a  tomb- 
stone, but  no  one  was  able  to  secure  it.  A  pecu- 
liarity of  these  creatures  is  that  the  nearer  they  are 
to  a  man  the  less  loud  their  voice  sounds,  resembling 
then  the  voice  of  small  beagles,  and  the  farther  off 
they  are  the  louder  is  their  cry.  Sometimes  a  voice 
like  that  of  a  great  hound  is  heard  sounding  among 
them — a  deep  hollow  voice,  as  if  it  were  the  voice 
of  a  monstrous  bloodhound.  Although  terrible  to 
hear,  and  certain  portents  of  death,  they  are  in 
themselves  harmless.  '  They  have  never  been 
known,'  says  a  most  respectable  authority,^  *to 
commit  any  mischief  on  the  persons  of  either  man 
or  woman,  goat,  sheep,  or  cow.'  Sometimes  they 
are  called  Cwn  y  Wybr,  or  Dogs  of  the  Sky,  but  the 
mo  sulphreurous  name  is  the  favourite  one.     They 

*  '  Cambro-Briton,'  i..  350. 


^34 


British  Goblins. 


are  also  sometimes  called  Dogs  of  the  Fairies. 
Their  origin  in  fairyland  is  traced  to  the  famous 
mabinogi  of  Pwyll,  Prince  of  Dyfed  ;  but  in  that 
fascinating  tale  of  enchantment  their  right  to  be 
called  Cwn  Annwn  is  clearly  set  forth,  for  they  are 
there  the  hounds  of  a  King  of  Annwn.  There  are 
several  translations  of  this  mabinogi  in  existence, 
and  its  popularity  in  South  Wales  is  great,  for  the 
villages,  vales,  and  streams  mentioned  in  it  are 
familiar  to  residents  in  Pembroke,  Carmarthen,  and 
Cardigan  shires.  Pwyll,  the  Prince,  was  at  Nar- 
berth,  where  was  his  chief  palace,  when  he  went 
one  day  to  a  wood  in  Glyn  Cych.  Here  '  he 
sounded  his  horn  and  began  to  enter  upon  the 
chase,  following  his  dogs  and  separating  from  his 
companions.  And  as  he  was  listening  to  the  cry 
of  his  pack,  he  could  distinctly  hear  the  cry  of 
another  pack,  different  from  that  of  his  own,  and 
which  was  coming  in  an  opposite  direction.  He 
could  also  discern  an  opening  in  the  woods  towards 
a  level  plain  ;  and  as  his  pack  was  entering  the 
skirt  of  the  opening  he  perceived  a  stag  before  the 
other  pack,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  glade  the 
pack  in  the  rear  coming  up  and  throwing  the  stag 
on  the  ground.  Upon  this  he  fixed  his  attention 
on  the  colour  of  the  pack,  without  recollecting  to 
look  at  the  stag :  and  of  all  the  hounds  in  the 
world  he  had  ever  seen  he  never  saw  any  like  them 
in  colour.  Their  colour  was  a  shining  clear  white, 
with  red  ears ;  and  the  whiteness  of  the  dogs  and 
the  redness  of  their  ears  were  equally  conspicuous.'* 
They  were  the  hounds  of  Arawn,  a  crowned  king 
in  the  land  of  Annwn,  the  shadow-land  of  Hades. 

The  Cwn  Annwn  are  sometimes  held  to  be  the 
hell-hounds  which  hunt  through  the  air  the  soul  of 

*  Dr.  W,  Owen  Pughe's  Trans.,  '  Camb.-Briton,'  ii.,  271. 


The  Spirit-World.  235 

the  wicked  man,  the  instant  it  quits  the  body — a 
truly  terrific  idea  to  the  vulgar  mind.  The  Prophet 
Jones  has  several  accounts  of  them :  Thomas 
Phillips,  of  Trelech  parish,  heard  them  with  the 
voice  of  the  great  dog  sounding  among  them,  and 
noticed  that  they  followed  a  course  that  was  never 
followed  by  funerals,  which  surprised  him  very 
much,  as  he  had  always  heard  that  the  Dogs  of  the 
Sky  invariably  went  the  same  way  that  the  corpse 
was  to  follow.  Not  long  after  a  woman  from  an 
adjoining  parish  died  at  Trelech,  and  being  carried 
to  her  own  parish  church  to  be  buried,  her  corpse 
did  actually  pass  the  same  way  in  which  the  spirit 
dogs  had  been  heard  to  hunt.  Thomas  Andrew, 
of  the  parish  of  Llanhiddel,  heard  them  one  night 
as  he  was  coming  home.  '  He  heard  them  coming 
towards  him,  though  he  saw  them  not.'  Their  cry 
grew  fainter  as  they  drew  near  him,  passed  him, 
and  louder  again  as  they  went  from  him.  They 
went  down  the  steeps  towards  the  river  Ebwy. 
And  Thomas  Andrew  was  *  a  religious  man,  who 
would  not  have  told  an  untruth  for  fear  or  for 
favour.' 

VIII. 

No  form  of  superstition  has  had  a  wider  popu- 
larity than  this  of  spiritual  hunting  dogs,  with  which 
was  usually  connected  In  olden  time  the  wild  hunts- 
man, a  personage  who  has  dropped  quite  out  of 
modern  belief,  at  least  in  Wales.  In  France  this 
goblin  was  called  Le  Grand  Veneur,  and  hunted 
v/ith  his  dogs  In  the  forests  of  Fontalnebleau  ;  in 
Germany  it  was  Hackelberg,  who  sold  himself  to 
the  devil  for  permission  to  hunt  till  doomsday.  In 
Britain  It  was  King  Arthur  who  served  as  the 
goblin  huntsman.  Peasants  would  hear  the  cry  of 
the  hounds  and  the  sounding  of  the  horns,  but  the 


236  British  Goblins, 


huntsman  was  invisible.  When  they  called  out  after 
him,  however,  the  answer  came  back :  '  We  are 
King  Arthur  and  his  kindred.'  Mr.  Baring-Gould,^ 
in  giving  an  account  of  the  myth  of  Odin,  the  Wild 
Huntsman,  who  rides  over  the  forests  by  night  on  a 
white  horse,  with  his  legion  of  hell-hounds,  seems  to 
ascribe  the  superstition  to  the  imagination  of  a 
belated  woodcutter  frightened  by  the  wind  in  the 
tree-tops.  William  Henderson^  presumes  the  belief 
in  the  Wild  Huntsman's  pack,  which  prevails  in  the 
North  of  England,  to  come  from  the  strange 
unearthly  cries  uttered  by  wild  fowl  on  their  passage 
southward,  and  which  sound  like  the  yelping  of 
dogs.  These  natural  phenomena  have  not  served, 
however,  to  keep  the  old  belief  alive  in  Wales. 

That  the  Cwn  Annwn  are  descendants  of  the 
wish-hound  of  Hermes,  hardly  admits  of  doubt. 
The  same  superstition  prevails  among  all  Aryan 
peoples,  with  details  differing  but  little.  The  souls 
of  the  dying  are  carried  away  by  the  howling 
winds,  the  dogs  of  Hermes,  in  the  ancient  mytho- 
logy as  in  surviving  beliefs  ;  on  this  follows  the 
custom  of  opening  the  windows  at  death,  so  that  the 
released  soul  may  escape.  In  Devonshire  they  say 
no  soul  can  escape  from  the  house  in  which  its  body 
dies,  unless  all  the  locks  and  bolts  are  opened.  In 
China  a  hole  is  made  in  the  roof  for  a  like  purpose. 
The  early  Aryan  conception  of  the  wind  as  a  howl- 
ing dog  or  wolf  speeding  over  the  house-tops  caused 
the  inmates  to  tremble  with  fear,  lest  their  souls 
should  be  called  to  follow  them.  It  must  be  con- 
stantly borne  in  mind  that  all  these  creatures  of 
fancy  were  more  or  less  interchangeable,  and  the 
god    Hermes   was   at   times    his   own   dog,   which 

^  '  Iceland,  its  Scenes  and  Sagas,'  199-203. 
2  '  Notes  on  Folk-Lore,'  97. 


The  Spirit-World.  237 

escorted  the  soul  to  the  river  Styx.  The  winds 
were  now  the  maruts,  or  spirits  of  the  breeze, 
serving  Indra,  the  sky-god  ;  again  they  were  the 
great  psychopomp  himself.  The  peasant  who  to-day 
tells  you  that  dogs  can  see  death  enter  the  house 
where  a  person  is  about  to  die,  merely  repeats  the 
idea  of  a  primeval  man  whose  ignorance  of  physical 
science  was  complete. 


238  British  Goblins. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


I 


The  Corpse  Candle — Its  Peculiarities — The  Woman  of  Caerau — 
Grasping  a  Corpse  Candle — The  Crwys  Candle — Lights  issuing 
from  the  Mouth — Jesting  with  the  Canwyll  Corph — The  Candle  at 
Pontfaen — The  Three  Candles  at  Golden  Grove — Origin  of  Death- 
Portents  in  Wales — Degree  of  Belief  prevalent  at  the  Present  Day 
— Origin  of  Spirits  in  General — The  Supernatural — The  Question  of 
a  Future  Life. 

I. 

Perhaps  the  most  picturesque  of  the  several  death- 
omens  popular  in  Wales  is  the  Canwyll  Corph,  or 
Corpse  Candle.  It  is  also,  according  to  my  obser- 
vation, the  most  extensively  believed  in  at  the  pre- 
sent day.  Its  details  are  varied  and  extremely 
interesting.  The  idea  of  a  goblin  in  the  form  of  a 
lighted  tallow  candle  is  ludicrous  enough,  at  first 
sight ;  and  indeed  I  know  several  learned  Welsh 
gentlemen  who  venture  to  laugh  at  it ;  but  the 
superstition  grows  more  and  more  grim  and  less 
risible  the  better  one  becomes  acquainted  with  it. 
It  is  worth  noting  here  that  the  canwyll,  or  candle, 
is  a  more  poetic  thing  among  the  Welsh — has  a 
higher  literary  place,  so  to  speak — than  among 
English-speaking  peoples.  In  the  works  of  their 
ancient  poets  the  candle  is  mentioned  in  passages 
where  we  should  use  the  word  light  or  lamp — as  in 
this  verse,  which  is  attributed  to  Aneurin  (sixth 
century) : 

The  best  candle  for  man  is  prudence. 

The  candle    is   the   favourite   figure   for   mental 
guidance  among  the  Welsh  ;^   there  is  no  book  in 

^  Stephens,  *  Lit.  of  the  Kymry,*  287.     (New  Ed.,  1876.) 


The  Spirit-World.  239 


the  Welsh  language  so  popular  as  a  certain  work  of 
religious  counsel  by  a  former  Vicar  of  Llandovery, 
called  '  The  Candle  of  the  Cymry/  The  Corpse 
Candle  is  always  and  invariably  a  death-warning. 
It  sometimes  appears  as  a  stately  flambeau,  stalking 
along  unsupported,  burning  with  a  ghastly  blue 
flame.  Sometimes  it  is  a  plain  tallow  '  dip '  in  the 
hand  of  a  ghost,  and  when  the  ghost  is  seen  dis- 
tinctly it  is  recognised  as  the  ghost  of  some  person 
yet  living,  who  will  now  soon  die.  This,  it  will  be 
noticed,  is  a  variation  upon  the  wraith,  or  Lledrith. 
Sometimes  the  goblin  is  a  light  which  issues  from  a 
person's  mouth  or  nostrils.  According  to  the  belief 
of  some  sections,  the  size  of  the  candle  indicates  the 
age  of  the  person  who  is  about  to  die,  being  large 
when  it  is  a  full-grown  person  whose  death  is  fore- 
told, small  when  it  is  a  child,  still  smaller  when  an 
infant.  Where  two  candles  together  are  seen,  one 
of  which  is  large  and  the  other  small,  it  is  a  mother 
and  child  who  are  to  die.  When  the  flame  is  white, 
the  doomed  person  is  a  woman  ;  when  red,  a  man. 

II. 

Among  the  accounts  of  the  Corpse  Candle  which 
have  come  under  my  notice  none  are  more  interest- 
ing than  those  given  me  by  a  good  dame  whom  I 
encountered  at  Caerau,  near  Cardiff.  Caerau  is  a 
little  village  of  perhaps  one  hundred  souls,  crouched 
at  the  foot  of  a  steep  hill  on  whose  summit  are  the 
ancient  earthworks  of  a  Roman  camp.  On  this 
summit  also  stands  the  parish  church,  distinctly 
visible  from  Cardiff  streets,  so  ponderous  is  its 
square  tower  against  the  sky.  To  walk  there  is  a 
pleasant  stroll  from  the  late  Marquis  of  Bute's  statue 
in  the  centre  of  the  seaport  town.  I  am  thus  par- 
ticular merely  for  emphasis   of  the   fact  that  this 


240 


British  Goblins, 


superstition  is  not  confined  to  remote  and  out-of-the- 
way  districts.  Caerau  is  rural,  and  its  people  are 
all  poor  people,  perhaps ;  but  its  church  is  barely 
three  miles  from  the  heart  of  a  busy  seaport.  In 
this  church  I  met  the  voluble  Welshwoman  who 
gave  me  the  accounts  referred  to.  One  was  to  this 
effect :  One  night  her  sister  was  lying  very  ill  at  the 
narrator's  house,  and  she  was  alone  with  her  children, 
her  husband  being  in  the  lunatic  asylum  at  Cardiff 
She  had  just  put  the  children  to  bed,  and  had  set 
her  candle  on  the  floor  preparatory  to  going  to  bed 
herself,  when  there  came  a  '  swish '  along  the  floor, 
like  the  rustling  of  grave-clothes,  and  the  candle 
was  blown  out.  The  room,  however,  to  her  surprise, 
remained  glowing  with  a  feeble  light  as  from  a  very 
small  taper,  and  looking  behind  her  she  beheld  '  old 
John  Richards,'  who  had  been  dead  ten  years.  He 
held  a  Corpse  Candle  in  his  hand,  and  he  looked  at 
her  in  a  chill  and  steadfast  manner  which  caused  the 
blood  to  run  cold  in  her  veins.  She  turned  and 
woke  her  eldest  boy,  and  said  to  him,  '  Don't  you 
see  old  John  Richards  ? '  The  boy  asked  '  Where  ?' 
rubbing  his  eyes.  She  pointed  out  the  ghost,  and 
the  boy  was  so  frightened  at  sight  of  it  that  he  cried 
out  '  O  wi !  O  Dduw  !  I  wish  I  may  die  ! '  The 
ghost  then  disappeared,  the  Corpse  Candle  in  its 
hand  ;  the  candle  on  the  floor  burned  again  with  a 
clear  light,  and  the  next  day  the  sick  sister  died. 

Another  account  ran  somewhat  thus  :  The  nar- 
rator's mother-in-law  was  ill  with  a  cancer  of  the 
breast.  '  Jenny  fach,'  she  said  to  the  narrator  one 
night,  *  sleep  by  me — I  feel  afraid.'  *  Hach  ! '  said 
Jenny,  thinking  the  old  woman  was  foolishly  nervous  ; 
but  she  stayed.  As  she  was  lying  in  bed  by  the  side 
of  her  mother-in-law,  she  saw  at  the  foot  of  the  bed 
the  faint  flame  of  a  Corpse  Candle,  which  shed  no 


^1 


The   Spirit-World.  241 

light  at  all  about  the  room  ;  the  place  remained  as 
dark  as  it  was  before.  She  looked  at  it  in  a  sort  of 
stupor  for  a  short  time,  and  then  raised  herself 
slowly  up  in  bed  and  reached  out  to  see  if  she 
could  grasp  the  candle.  Her  fingers  touched  it, 
but  it  immediately  went  out  in  a  little  shower  of 
pale  sparkles  that  fell  downward.  At  that  moment 
her  mother-in-law  uttered  a  groan,  and  expired. 

*  Do  you  know  Thomas  Mathews,  sir  ?'  she  asked 
me ;  'he  lives  at  Crwys  now,  but  he  used  to  live 
here  at  Caerau.'  'Crwys?'  I  repeated,  not  at 
once  comprehending.  *  Oh,  you  must  know  Crwys, 
sir  ;  it's  just  the  other  side  of  Cardiff,  towards  New- 
port.' *  Can  you  spell  it  for  me  ? '  ^  The  woman 
blushed.  '  'Deed,  sir,'  said  she,  '  I  ought  to  be  a 
scholar,  but  I've  had  so  much  trouble  with  my  old 
man  that  I've  quite  forgot  my  spellin'.'  However, 
the  story  of  Thomas  Mathews  was  to  the  effect 
that  he  saw  a  Corpse  Candle  come  out  of  his  father's 
mouth  and  go  to  his  feet,  and  away  a  bit,  then  back 
again  to  the  mouth,  which  it  did  not  exactly  enter, 
but  blended  as  it  were  with  the  sick  man's  body. 
I  asked  if  the  candle  was  tallow  at  any  point 
in  its  excursion,  to  which  I  was  gravely  answered 
that  it  was  the  spirit  of  tallow.  The  man  died 
not  long  after,  in  the  presence  of  my  informant, 
who  described  the  incident  with  a  dramatic  force 
and  fervour  peculiarly  Celtic,  concluding  with  the 
remark  :  '  Well,  well,  there's  only  one  way  to  come 
into  the  world,  but  there's  a  many  ways  to  go  out 
of  it.' 

The  light  issuing  from  the  mouth  is  a  fancy  fre- 
quently encountered.  In  the  'Liber  Landavenis' 
it  is  mentioned  that  one  day  as  St.  Samson  was 
celebrating  the  holy  mysteries,  St.   Dubricius  with 

^  It  is  pronounced  Croo-iss. 


242  British  Goblins. 


two  monks  saw  a  stream  of  fire  to  proceed  glittering 
from  his  mouth/  In  old  woodcuts,  the  souls  of  the 
dying  are  represented  as  issuing  from  the  mouth  in 
the  form  of  small  human  figures  ;  and  the  Tyrolese 
peasants  still  fancy  the  soul  is  seen  coming  out  of 
the  mouth  of  a  dying  man  like  a  little  white  cloud.^ 
From  the  mouth  of  a  patient  in  a  London  hospital 
some  time  since  the  nurses  observed  issuing  a  pale 
bluish  flame,  and  soon  after  the  man  died.  The 
frightened  nurses — not  being  acquainted  with  the 
corpse-candle  theory  of  such  things — imagined  the 
torments  of  hell  had  already  begun  in  the  still 
living  body.  A  scientific  explanation  of  the  pheno- 
menon ascribed  it  to  phosphuretted  hydrogen,  a 
result  of  incipient  decomposition.^ 

III. 

It  IS  ill  jesting  with  the  Corpse  Candle.  Persons 
who  have  endeavoured  to  stop  it  on  its  way  have 
come  severely  to  grief  thereby.  Many  have  been 
struck  down  where  they  stood,  In  punishment  of 
their  audacity,  as  In  the  case  of  William  John,  a 
blacksmith  of  Lanboydi.  He  was  one  night  going 
home  on  horseback,  when  he  saw  a  Corpse  Candle, 
and  his  natural  caution  being  at  the  moment  some- 
what overcome  by  potables,  he  resolved  to  go  out 
of  his  way  to  obstruct  its  passage.  As  the  candle 
drew  near  he  saw  a  corpse  upon  a  bier,  the  corpse 
of  a  woman  he  knew,  and  she  held  the  candle 
between  her  forefingers,  and  dreadfully  grinned  at 
him.  Then  he  was  struck  from  his  horse,  and  lay 
in  the  road  a  long  time  Insensible,  and  was  111  for 
weeks   thereafter.     Meantime,    the   woman   whose 

^  '  Liber  Landavensis,'  299. 

^  Tylor,  '  Primitive  Culture,'  391. 

^  '  Transactions  Cardiff  Nat.  Soc.,'  iv.  5. 


The  Spirit' World.  243 

spectral  corpse  he  had  seen,  died  and  was  buried, 
her  funeral  passing  by  that  road. 

A  clergyman's  son  in  Carmarthenshire,  (subse- 
quently himself  a  preacher,)  who  in  his  younger 
days  was  somewhat  vicious,  came  home  one  night 
late  from  a  debauch,  and  found  the  doors  locked. 
Fearing  to  disturb  the  folk,  and  fearing  also  their 
reproaches  and  chidings  for  his  staying  out  so  late, 
(as  many  a  young  fellow  has  felt  before  and  since,) 
he  went  to  the  man-servant,  who  slept  in  an  out- 
room,  as  is  sometimes  the  custom  in  Welsh  rural 
districts.  He  could  not  awake  the  man-servant, 
but  while  standing  over  him,  he  saw  a  small  light 
issue  from  the  servant  s  nostrils,  which  soon  became 
a  Corpse  Candle.  He  followed  it  out.  It  came 
to  a  foot-bridge  which  crossed  a  rivulet.  Here 
the  young  man  became  inspired  with  the  idea  of 
trying  an  experiment  with  the  Corpse  Candle.  He 
raised  the  end  of  the  foot-bridge  off  the  bank,  and 
watched  to  see  what  the  ghostly  light  would  do. 
When  it  came  to  the  rivulet  it  seemed  to  offer  to 
go  over,  but  hesitated,  as  if  loth  to  cross  except 
upon  the  bridge.  So  the  young  man  put  the  bridge 
back  in  its^lace,  and  stayed  to  see  how  the  candle 
would  act.  It  came  on  the  bridge,  and  as  it  passed 
the  young  man  it  struck  him,  as  with  a  handkerchief. 
But  though  the  blow  was  thus  light  and  phantom- 
like, it  doubled  the  young  man  up  and  left  him  a 
senseless  heap  on  the  ground,  where  he  lay  till 
morning,  when  he  recovered  and  went  home.  It 
is  needless  to  add  that  the  servant  died. 

IV. 

Morris  Griffith  was  once  schoolmaster  in  the 
parish  of  Pontfaen,  in  Pembrokeshire,  but  subse- 
quently became  a  Baptist  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 


244  British  Goblins. 


He  tells  this  story:   '  As  I  was  coming  from  a  place 
called  Tre-Davydd,  and  was  come  to  the  top  of  the 
hill,  I  saw  a  great  light  down  in  the  valley,  which 
I   wondered  at ;  for   I    could   not   imagine  what   it 
meant.     But  it  came  to  my  mind  that  it  was  a  light 
before    a   burying,    though    I    never    could   believe 
before    that   there   was    such    a    thing.     The   light 
which  I  saw  then  was  a  very  red  light,  and  it  stood 
still  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  the  way  which 
went  towards  Llanferch-Llawddog  church.      I  made 
haste  to  the  other  side  of  the  hill,  that  I  might  see 
it   farther  ;  and  from  thence  I  saw  it  go  along  to 
the  churchyard,  where  it  stood  still  for  a  litde  time 
and  entered  into  the  church.      I  remained  waiting 
to  see  it  come  out,  and  it  was  not  long  before  it 
came  out,  and  went  to  a  certain  part  of  the  church- 
yard, where  it  stood  a  little  time,  and  then  vanished 
out  of  my  sight.     A  few  days  afterwards,  being  in 
school  with  the  children  about  noon,  I  heard  a  great 
noise   overhead,   as   if  the   top    of  the  house  was 
coming  down.      I   ran   out   to  see  the  garret,   and 
there  was  nothing  amiss.     A  few  days  afterwards, 
Mr.    Higgon  of  Pontfaen's  son  died.      When    the 
carpenter  came  to  fetch  the  boards  tq  make  the 
coffin,  (which  were  in  the  garret,)  he  made  exactly 
such  a  stir,  in  handling  the  boards  in  the  garret,  as 
was  made  before  by  some  spirit,  who  foreknew  the 
death  that  was  soon  to  come  to  pass.     In  carrying 
the  body  to  the  grave,  the  burying  stood  where  the 
light  had  stood  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  be- 
cause there  was  some  water  crossing  the  way,  and 
the  people  could  not  go  over  it  without  wetting  their 
feet,  therefore  they  were  obliged  to  wait  till  those 
that  had  boots  helped  them  over.     The  child  was 
buried  in  that  very  spot  of  ground  in  the  church- 
yard, where  I  saw  the  light  stop  after  it  came  out 


The  Spirit- World.  245 


of  the  church.  This  is  what  I  can  boldly  testify, 
having  seen  and  heard  what  I  relate — a  thing  which 
before  I  could  not  believe.' 

Joshua  Coslet,  before  mentioned  in  these  pages, 
suddenly  met  a  Corpse  Candle  as  he  was  going 
through  Heol  Bwlch  y  Gwynt,  (Windgap  Lane)  in 
Llandilo  Fawr  parish.  It  was  a  small  light  when 
near  him,  but  increased  as  it  went  farther  from  him. 
He  could  easily  see  that  there  was  some  dark 
shadow  passing  along  with  the  candle,  and  the 
shadow  of  a  man  carried  it,  holding  it  '  between 
his  three  forefingers  over  against  his  face.'  He 
might  perhaps  have  seen  more,  but  he  was  afraid 
to  look  too  earnestly  upon  it.  Not  long  after,  a 
burying  passed  through  Heol  Bwlch  y  Gwynt. 
Another  time  he  saw  the  likeness  of  a  candle  carried 
in  a  skull.  '  There  is  nothing  unlikely  or  unreason- 
able in  either  of  these  representations,'  says  the 
Prophet  Jones,  their  historian. 

A  Carmarthenshire  tradition  relates  that  one  day, 
when  the  coach  which  runs  between  Llandilo  and 
Carmarthen  was  passing  by  Golden  Grove,  the 
property  of  the  Earl  of  Cawdor,  three  Corpse 
Candles  were  observed  on  the  surface  of  the  water 
gliding  down  the  stream  which  runs  near  the  road. 
All  the  passengers  saw  them.  A  few  days  after, 
some  men  were  about  crossing  the  river  near  there 
in  a  coracle,  when  one  of  them  expressed  his  fear  at 
venturing,  as  the  river  was  flooded,  and  he  remained 
behind.  Thus  the  fatal  number  crossed  the  river — 
three — three  Corpse  Candles  having  foretold  their 
fate  ;  and  all  were  drowned. 

V. 

Tradition  ascribes  the  origin  of  all  these  death- 
portents  to  the  efforts  of  St.  David.     This  saint 

R  2 


246  British  Goblins. 


appears  to  have  been  a  great  and  good  man,  and  a 
zealous  Catholic,  who,  as  a  contemporary  of  the 
historical  Arthur,  is  far  enough  back  in  the  dim  past 
to  meet  the  views  of  romantic  minds.  And  a 
prelate  who  by  his  prayers  and  presence  could 
enable  King  Arthur  to  overthrow  the  Saxons  in 
battle,  or  who  by  his  pious  learning  could  single- 
handed  put  down  the  Pelagian  heresy  in  the 
Cardiganshire  synod,  was  surely  strong  enough  to 
invoke  the  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn,  the  Cyhyraeth,  the 
Corpse  Candle,  and  all  the  dreadful  brood.  This 
the  legend  relates  he  did  by  a  special  appeal  to 
Heaven.  Observing  that  the  people  in  general 
were  careless  of  the  life  to  come,  and  could  not  be 
brought  to  mind  it,  and  make  preparation  for  it,  St. 
David  prayed  that  Heaven  would  give  a  sign  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  and  of  a  life  to  come,  by  a 
presage  of  death.  Since  that  day,  Wales,  and  par- 
ticularly that  part  of  Wales  included  in  the  bishopric 
of  St.  David,  has  had  these  phantoms.  More  ma- 
terialistic minds  consider  these  portents  to  be  a  re- 
mainder of  those  practices  by  which  the  persecuted 
Druids  performed  their  rites  and  long  kept  up  their 
religion  in  the  land  which  Christianity  had  claimed  : 
a  similar  origin,  in  fact,  is  here  found  for  goblin 
omens  as  for  fairies. 

That  these  various  portents  are  extensively 
believed  in  at  the  present  day  there  cannot  be  a 
doubt ;  with  regard  to  the  most  important  of  them,  I 
am  able  to  testify  with  the  fullest  freedom  ;  I  have 
heard  regarding  them  story  after  story,  from  the  lips 
of  narrators  whose  sincerity  was  expressed  vividly  in 
face,  tones,  and  behaviour.  The  excited  eye,  the 
paling  cheek,  the  bated  breath,  the  sinking  voice, 
the  intense  and  absorbed  manner — familiar  pheno- 
mena in  every  circle  where  ghost  stories  are  told 


The  Spirit-World,  247 

— evidenced  the  perfect  sincerity,  at  least,  of  the 
speakers. 

It  is  unnecessary  here  to  repeat,  what  I  for  my 
own  part  never  forget,  nor,  I  trust,  does  the  reader, 
that  Wales  is  no  exception  to  the  rest  of  the  world 
in  its  credulity.  That  it  is  more  picturesque  is  true, 
and  it  is  also  true  that  there  is  here  an  unusual 
amount  of  legend  which  has  not  hitherto  found  its 
way  into  books.  Death-omens  are  common  to  all 
lands ;  even  in  America,  there  are  tales  of  the 
banshee,  imported  from  Ireland  along  with  the  sons 
of  that  soil.  In  one  recent  case  which  came  under 
my  notice  the  banshee  belonged  to  a  Cambridgeshire 
Englishman.  This  was  at  Evansville,  Indiana,  and 
the  banshee  had  appeared  before  the  deaths  of  five 
members  of  a  family,  the  last  of  whom  was  the 
father.  His  name  was  Feast,  and  the  circumstances 
attending  the  banshee's  visits  were  gravely  described 
in  a  local  journal  as  a  matter  of  news.  Less  dis- 
tinguished death-portents  are  common  enough  in  the 
United  States.  That  the  Cambrian  portents  are 
so  picturesque  and  clearly  defined  must  be  considered 
strong  testimony  to  the  vivid  imagination  of  the 
Welsh.  Figures  born  of  the  fancy,  as  distinguished 
from  creatures  born  of  the  flesh,  prove  their  parent- 
age by  the  vagueness  of  their  outlines.  The  outlines 
of  the  Cyhyraeth  and  the  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn  some- 
times run  into  and  mingle  with  each  other,  and  so  do 
those  of  the  Tolaeth  and  the  Goblin  Funeral  ;  but 
the  wonder  is  they  are  such  distinct  entities  as  they 
are. 

VI. 

To  say  that  all  the  visible  inhabitants  of  the 
mundane  spirit-world  are  creatures  of  the  dis- 
ordered human  liver,  is  perhaps  a  needless  harsh- 
ness of  statement.     The  question   of  a  future  life 


248  British  Goblins. 


is  not  involved  in  this  subject,  nor  raised  by  the 
best  writers  who  are  studying  it  ;  but,  religious 
belief  quite  apart,  it  remains  to  be  proved  that 
spirits  of  a  supernatural  world  have  any  share  in 
the  affairs  of  a  world  governed  by  natural  law. 
A  goblin  which  manifests  itself  to  the  human  eye, 
it  seems  to  me,  becomes  natural,  by  bowing  before 
the  natural  laws  which  rule  in  optics.  Yet  be- 
lievers in  ghosts  find  no  difficulty  in  this  direction  ; 
the  word  *  supernatural '  covers  a  multitude  of  sins. 
'  What  is  the  supernatural  ?'  asks  Disraeli,  in 
'  Lothair.'  *  Can  there  be  anything  more  mira- 
culous than  the  existence  of  man  and  the  world  ? 
anything  more  literally  supernatural  than  the  origin 
of  things  ?' 

Surely,  in  this  life,  nothing  !  The  student  who 
endeavours  to  govern  his  faith  by  the  methods 
of  science  asks  no  more  of  any  ghost  that  ever 
walked  the  earth,  than  that  it  will  prove  itself  a 
reality.  Man  loves  the  marvellous.  The  marvels 
of  science,  however,  do  not  melt  away  into  thin 
air  on  close  examination.  They  thrive  under  the 
severest  tests,  and  grow  more  and  more  extra- 
ordinary the  more  they  are  tried.  The  spectro- 
scope and  the  radiometer  are  more  wonderful  than 
any  '  supernatural '  thing  yet  heard  of.  Trans- 
portation through  the  air  in  the  arms  of  a  spirit 
is  a  clear  impossibility;  but  it  is  less  wonderful 
than  the  every-day  feats  of  electricity  in  our  time, 
the  bare  conception  of  which  would  have  filled 
Plato  and  Aristotle  with  awe. 

The  actual  origin  of  the  phantoms  of  the  spirit- 
world  is  to  be  found  in  the  lawless  and  luxuriant 
fancy  of  primeval  man.  The  creatures  of  this 
fancy  have  been  perpetuated  throughout  all  time, 
unto  our  own  day,  by  that  passionate  yearning  in 


The  Spirit-World.  249 


men  for  continued  life  and  love,  which  is  ineradi- 
cable in  our  nature.  Men  will  not,  they  can  not, 
accept  the  doubt  which  plunges  an  eternal  future 
into  eternal  darkness,  and  separates  them  for  ever 
from  the  creatures  of  their  love.  Hence,  when 
the  remorseless  fact  of  Death  removes  those 
creatures,  they  look,  with  a  longing  which  is  inde- 
scribably pathetic,  into  the  Unknown  where  their 
beloved  have  gone,  and  strive  to  see  them  in  their 
spirit-life. 

On  this  verge  the  finite  mind  must  pause ;  to 
question  that  life  is  to  add  a  terrible  burden  to 
all  human  woe ;  it  need  not  be  questioned.  But 
to  question  the  power  of  anything  in  that  life  to 
manifest  itself  to  man  through  natural  law,  is  to  do 
what  science  has  a  right  to  do.  '  The  living  know 
that  they  shall  die :  but  the  dead  know  not  any 
thing  .  .  .  neither  have  they  any  more  a  portion 
for  ever  in  any  thing  that  is  done  under  the  sun.'  ^ 

^  *  Eccles.'  ix.,  5,  6. 


250 


British  Goblins, 


BOOK  III. 

QUAINT  OLD  CUSTOMS. 

Where  in  an  agede  cell  with  moss  and  iveye  growne, 
In  which  nor  to  this  daye  the  sunn  had  ever  showne, 
Their  reverend  British  saint,  in  zealous  ages  paste, 
To  contemplation  lived,  and  did  so  truly  faste. 
As  he  did  onlie  drink  what  chrystal  [rivers]  yields, 
And  fed  upon  the  leakes  he  gather'd  in  the  fields  : 
I  n  memory  of  whom,  in  the  revolving  year. 
The  Welchman  on  that  daye  that  sacred  herb  doth  wear. 

MS.  in  Bodleian  Library. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Serious  Significance  of  seemingly  Trivial  Customs — Their  Origins — 
Common  Superstitions  —The  Age  we  Live  in — Days  and  Seasons 
— New  Year's  Day — The  Apple  Gift — Lucky  Acts  on  New  Year's 
Morning — The  First  Foot — Showmen's  Superstitions — Levy  Dew 
Song — Happy  New  Year  Carol — Twelfth  Night — The  Mari  Lwyd 
— The  Penglog — The  Cutty  Wren — Tooling  and  Sowling— St. 
Valentine's  Day — St.  Dewi's  Day — The  Wearing  of  the  Leek — 
The  Traditional  St.  David— St.  Patrick's  Day — St.  Patrick  a 
Welshman — Shrove  Tuesday. 

I. 

Numberless  customs  in  Wales  which  appear  to 
be  meaningless,  to  people  of  average  culture,  are 
in  truth  replete  with  meaning.  However  trivial 
they  may  seem,  they  are  very  seldom  the  offspring 
of  mere  fooling.  The  student  of  comparative  folk- 
lore is  often  able  to  trace  their  origin  with  surprising 
distinctness,  and  to  evolve  from  them  a  significance 
before   unsuspected.     In  many  cases  these  quaint 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  251 

old    customs    are    traced    to    the    primeval    mytho-  \ 
logy.     Others  are  clearly  seen  to  be  of  Druidical 
origin.     Many  spring    from    the    rites  and   observ-  I 
ances  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the  early  j 
days  of  Christianity  on  Welsh   soil — where,   as  is 
now    generally    conceded,    the    Gospel    was    first 
preached    in    Great    Britain.       Some   embody   his-  \ 
torical  traditions  ;  and  some  are  the  outgrowth  of  / 
peculiar     states     of    society    in     medieval     times. 
Directly  or  indirectly,  they  are  all  associated  with 
superstition,  though  in   many  instances  they  have 
quite     lost     any     superstitious    character     in    our 
day. 

Modern  society  is  agreed,  with  respect  to  many 
curious  old  customs,  to  view  them  as  the  peculiar 
possession  of  ignorance.  It  is  very  instructive  to 
note,  in  this  connection,  how  blandly  we  accept 
some  of  the  most  superstitious  of  these  usages, 
with  tacit  approval,  and  permit  them  to  govern  our 
conduct.  In  every  civilised  community,  in  every 
enlightened  land  on  earth,  there  are  many  men  and 
women  to  whom  this  remark  applies,  who  would 
deem  themselves  shamefully  insulted  should  you 
doubt  their  intelligence  and  culture.  Men  and 
women  who  '  smile  superior '  at  the  idea  of  Luther 
hurling  inkstands  at  the  devil,  or  at  the  Welsh 
peasant  who  thinks  a  pig  can  see  the  wind,  will 
themselves  avoid  beginning  a  journey  on  a  Friday, 
view  as  ominous  a  rainy  wedding-day,  throw  an  old 
slipper  after  a  bride  for  luck,  observe  with  interest 
the  portents  of  their  nightly  dreams,  shun  seeing 
the  new  moon  over  the  left  shoulder,  throw  a  pinch 
of  salt  over  the  same  member  when  the  salt-cellar 
is  upset,  tie  a  red  string  about  the  neck  to  cure 
nose-bleed,  and  believe  in  the  antics  of  the  modern 
spiritualistic  '  control.'     Superstition,  however,  they 


252  British  Goblins, 

leave  to  the  ignorant !  The  examples  of  every-day 
fetichism  here  cited  are  familiar  to  us,  not  specially 
among  the  Welsh,  but  among  the  English  also,  and 
the  people  of  the  United  States — who,  I  may  again 
observe,  are  no  doubt  as  a  people  uncommonly  free 
from  superstition,  in  comparison  with  the  older 
nations  of  the  earth  ;  but  modesty  is  a  very  be- 
coming wear  for  us  all,  in  examining  into  other 
people's  superstitions. 

Aside  from  their  scientific  interest,  there  is  a 
charm  about  many  of  the  quaint  customs  of  the 
Welsh,  which  speaks  eloquently  to  most  hearts. 
They  are  the  offspring  of  ignorance,  true,  but  they 
touch  the  '  good  old  times '  of  the  poet  and  the 
romancer,  when  the  conditions  of  life  were  less 
harsh  than  now.  So  we  love  to  think.  As  a  matter 
of  scientific  truth,  this  idea  is  itself,  alas !  but  a 
superstition.  This  world  has  probably  never  been 
so  fair  a  place  to  live  in,  life  never  so  free  from 
harsh  conditions,  as  now ;  and  as  time  goes  on, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  the  improving  process  will 
continue.  The  true  halcyon  days  of  man  are  to  be 
looked  for  in  the  future — not  in  the  past ;  but  with 
that  future  we  shall  have  no  mortal  part. 

II. 

In  treating  of  customs,  no  other  classification  ts 
needful  than  their  arrangement  in  orderly  sequence 
in  two  divisions  :  first,  those  which  pertain  to  certain 
days  and  seasons  ;  second,  those  relating  to  the 
most  conspicuous  events  in  common  human  life, 
courtship,  marriage,  and  death. 

Beginning  with  the  year :  there  is  in  Glamorgan- 
shire a .  New  Year's  Day  custom  of  great  antiquity 
and  large  present  observance,  called  the  apple  gift, 
or  New  Year's  gift.     In  every  town  and  village  you 


Quaint  Old  Ctistoms. 


253 


will  encounter  children,  on  and  about  New  Year's 
Day,  going  from  door  to  door  of  shops  and  houses, 
bearing  an  apple  or  an  orange  curiously  tricked  out. 
Three  sticks  in  the  form  of  a  tripod  are  thrust  into 
it  to  serve  as  a  rest ;  its  sides  are  smeared  with 
flour  or  meal,  and  stuck  over  with  oats  or  wheat. 


THE   NEW  year's   APPLE. 

or  bits  of  broken  lucifer  matches  to  represent  oats  ; 
its  top  is  covered  with  thyme  or  other  sweet  ever- 
green, and  a  skewer  is  inserted  in  one  side  as  a 
handle  to  hold  it  by.  In  its  perfection,  this  piece  of 
work  is  elaborate  ;  but  it  is  now  often  a  decrepit 
affair,  in  the  larger  towns,  where  the  New  Year  is 


254  BnA 

welcomed  (as  at  Cardiff)  by  a  midnight  chorus  of 
steam-whistles. 

The  Christian  symbolism  of  this  custom  Is  sup- 
posed to  relate  to  the  offering,  by  the  Wise  Men,  of 
gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh  to  the  infant  Jesus. 
The  older  interpretation,  however,  takes  the  custom 
back  to  the  Druidic  days,  and  makes  it  a  form  of 
the  solar  myth.  In  the  three  supporting  sticks  of 
the  apple  are  seen  the  three  rays  of  the  sun,  /|\, 
the  mystic  Name  of  the  Creator ;  the  apple  is  the 
round  sun  Itself;  the  evergreens  represent  Its  per- 
ennial life ;  and  the  grains  of  wheat,  or  oats,  Avag- 
ddu's  spears.  Avagddu  is  the  evil  principle  of 
darkness — hell,  or  the  devil — with  which  the  sun 
fights  throughout  the  winter  for  the  world's  life. 

Thousands  of  children  in  Wales  seek  to  win  from 
their  elders  a  New  Year  s  copper  by  exhibiting  the 
apple  gift,  or  by  singing  in  chorus  their  good  wishes. 
A  popular  verse  on  this  occasion  hopes  the  hearer 
will  be  blessed  with  an  abundance  of  money  in  his 
pocket  and  of  beer  in  his  cellar,  and  draws  attention 
to  the  singers'  thin  shoes  and  the  bad  character  of 
the  walking.  In  many  cases  the  juvenile  population 
parades  the  street  all  night,  sometimes  with  noisy 
fife  bands,  which  follow  the  death  knell,  as  it  sounds 
from  the  old  church  tower,  with  shrill  peals  of  a 
merrier  if  not  more  musical  sort. 

In  Pembrokeshire,  to  rise  early  on  New  Year's 
morning  is  considered  luck-bringing.  On  that 
morning  also  it  is  deemed  wise  to  bring  a  fresh  loaf 
into  the  house,  with  the  superstition  that  the  succes- 
sion of  loaves  throughout  the  year  will  be  influenced 
by  that  Incident.  A  rigid  quarantine  is  also  set  up, 
to  see  that  no  female  visitor  cross  the  threshold  first 
on  New  Year's  morning  ;  that  a  male  visitor  shall 
be  the  first  to  do  so   is   a  lucky   thing,    and   the 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  255 

reverse  unlucky.  A  superstition  resembling  this 
prevails  to  this  day  in  America  among  showmen. 
'  There's  no  showman  on  the  road,'  said  an 
American  manager  of  my  acquaintance,  '  who  would 
think  of  letting  a  lady  be  first  to  pass  through  the 
doors  when  opening  them  for  a  performance. 
There's  a  sort  of  feeling  that  it  brings  ill-luck. 
Then  there  are  cross-eyed  people  ;  many  a  veteran 
ticket-seller  loses  all  heart  when  one  presents  him- 
self at  the  ticket-window.  A  cross-eyed  patron  and 
a  bad  house  generally  go  together.  A  cross-eyed 
performer  would  be  a  regular  Jonah.  With  circuses 
there  is  a  superstition  that  a  man  with  a  yellow 
clarionet  brings  bad  luck.'  Another  well-known 
New  York  manager  in  a  recent  conversation 
assured  me  that  to  open  an  umbrella  in  a  new  play 
is  deemed  certain  failure  for  the  piece.  An  umbrella 
may  be  carried  closed  with  impunity,  but  it  must 
not  be  opened  unless  the  author  desire  to  court 
failure.  The  Chinese  have  the  Pembrokeshire 
superstition  exactly,  as  regards  the  first  foot  on 
New  Year's  Day.  They  consider  a  woman  pecu- 
liarly unlucky  as  a  first  foot  after  the  New  Year 
has  begun,  but  a  Buddhist  priest  is  even  more 
unlucky  than  a  woman,  in  this  light.^ 

Another  Pembrokeshire  custom  on  New  Year's 
morning  is  quaint  and  interesting.  As  soon  as  it  is 
light,  children  of  the  peasantry  hasten  to  provide  a 
small  cup  of  pure  spring  water,  just  from  the  well, 
and  go  about  sprinkling  the  faces  of  those  they 
meet,  with  the  aid  of  a  sprig  of  evergreen.  At  the 
same  time  they  sing  the  following  verses : 

Here  we  bring  new  water  from  the  well  so  clear, 
For  to  worship  God  with,  this  happy  new  year  ; 


^  Dennys,  '  Folk- Lore  of  China,'  31. 


2C,6 


British  Goblins. 


Sing  levy  dew,  sing  levy  dew,  the  water  and  the  wine, 
With  seven  bright  gold  wires,  and  bugles  that  do  shine  ; 
Sing  reign  of  fair  maid,  with  gold  upon  her  toe  ; 
Open  you  the  west  door  and  turn  the  old  year  go  ; 
Sing  reign  of  fair  maid,  with  gold  upon  her  chin  ; 
Open  you  the  east  door  and  let  the  new  year  in  ! 

This  custom  also  is  still  observed  extensively. 
The  words  '  levy  dew '  are  deemed  an  English 
version  of  Lief  i  Dduw,  (a  cry  to  God). 

A  Welsh  song  sung  on  New  Year's  Day,  in 
Glamorganshire,  by  boys  in  chorus,  somewhat  after 
the  Christmas  carol  fashion,  is  this  : 

Blwyddyn  newydd  dda  i  chwi, 

Gwyliau  llawen  i  chwi, 

Meistr  a  meistres  bob  un  trwy'r  ty, 

Gwyliau  llawen  i  chwi, 

Codwch  yn  foreu,  a  rheswch  y  tan, 

A  cherddwch  i'r  ffynon  i  ymofyn  dwr  glan. 

A  happy  new  year  to  you, 

Merry  be  your  holidays. 

Master  and  mistress — every  one  in  the  house  ; 

Arise  in  the  morning ;  bestir  the  fire, 

And  go  to  the  well  to  fetch  fresh  water. 


i 


III. 

Among  Twelfth  Night  customs,  none  is  more 
celebrated  than  that  called  Mary  Lwyd.  It  prevails 
in  various  parts  of  Wales,  notably  in  lower  Glamor- 
ganshire. The  skeleton  of  a  horse's  head  is  pro- 
cured by  the  young  men  or  boys  of  a  village,  and 
adorned  with  '  favours '  of  pink,  blue,  yellow,  etc. 
These  are  generally  borrowed  from  the  girls,  as  it 
is  not  considered  necessary  the  silken  fillets  and 
rosettes  should  be  new,  and  such  finery  costs  money. 
The  bottoms  of  two  black  bottles  are  inserted  in  the 
sockets  of  the  skeleton  head  to  serve  as  eyes,  and  a 
substitute  for  ears  is  also  contrived.  On  Twelfth 
Night  they  carry  this  object  about  from  house  to 
house,  with  shouts  and  songs,  and  a  general  cultiva- 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  257 


tion  of  noise  and  racket.  Sometimes  a  duet  is  sungf 
in  Welsh,  outside  a  door,  the  singers  begging  to  be 
invited  in  ;  if  the  door  be  not  opened  they  tap  on  it, 
and  there  is  frequently  quite  a  series  of  awen  sung, 
the  parties  within  denying  the  outsiders  admission, 
and  the  outsiders  urging  the  same.  At  last  the  door 
is  opened,  when  in  bounces  the  merry  crowd,  among 
them  the  Mary  Lwyd,  borne  by  one  personating  a 
horse,  who  is  led  by  another  personating  the  groom. 
The  horse  chases  the  girls  around  the  room,  caper- 
ing and  neighing,  while  the  groom  cries,  '  So  ho,  my 
boy — gently,  poor  fellow ! '  and  the  girls,  of  course, 
scream  with  merriment.  A  dance  follows — a  reel, 
performed  by  three  young  men,  tricked  out  with 
ribbons.  The  company  is  then  regaled  with  cakes 
and  ale,  and  the  revellers  depart,  pausing  outside  the 
door  to  sing  a  parting  song  of  thanks  and  good 
wishes  to  their  entertainers. 

The  penglog  (a  skull,  a  noddle)  is  a  similar 
custom  peculiar  to  Aberconwy  (Conway)  in  Car- 
narvonshire. In  this  case  the  horse's  skull  is  an 
attention  particularly  bestowed  upon  prudes. 

Mary  Lwyd  may  mean  Pale  Mary,  or  Wan  Mary, 
or  Hoary  Mary,  but  the  presumption  is  that  it  means 
in  this  case  Blessed  Mary,  and  that  the  custom  is  of 
papal  origin.  There  is,  however,  a  tradition  which 
links  the  custom  with  enchantment,  in  connection 
with  a  warlike  princess,  reputed  to  have  flourished  in 
Gwent  and  M organ wg  in  the  early  ages,  and  who  is 
to  be  seen  to  this  day,  mounted  on  her  steed,  on  a 
rock  in  Rhymney  Dingle.^ 

The  cutty  wren  is  a  Pembrokeshire  Twelfth  Night 
custom  prevailing  commonly  during  the  last  century, 
but  now  nearly  extinct.  A  wren  was  placed  in  a 
little   house  of  paper,  with  glass  windows,  and  this 

^  Vide  W.  Roberts's  '  Crefydd  yr  Oesoedd  Tywyll,'  i. 


British  Goblins. 


was  hoisted  on  four  poles,  one  at  each  corner.  Four 
men  bore  it  about,  singing  a  very  long  ballad,  of 
which  one  stanza  will  be  enough  : 


^ 


i^i=i 


^ 


--^^=X 


O !      where        are     you         go  -  ing  ?   says      Mil  -   der 


to 


i 


i 


1^s=1: 


r=^ 


:^pt=^ 


^ 


JitzithKtzzt 


Mel  -  der,      O!  where  are  you  go  -ing?  says  the    youn-ger  to  the 


i 


s 


T^ 


^ 


-M=3L 


^^ 


Hiit-^^ 


el  -  der  ;     O  !      I       can  -  not    tell,    says   Fes  -  tel    to    Fose  ;  We're 


feE3 


^ 


^ 


^ 


-i:^. 


go  -  ing  to     the      woods,         said  John   the    Red  Nose,  We're 


^^ 


2:± 


go  -  ing  to     the      woods,  said     John     the    Red    Nose  ! 

The  immediate  purpose  of  this  rite  was  to  levy 
contributions.  Another  such  custom  was  called 
'tooling,'  and  its  purpose  was  beer.  It  consisted  in 
calling  at  the  farm-houses  and  pretending  to  look  for 
one's  tools  behind  the  beer  cask.  '  I've  left  my  saw 
behind  your  beer  cask,'  a  carpenter  would  say  ;  *  my 
whip,'  a  carter  ;  and  received  the  tool  by  proxy,  in  the 
shape  of  a  cup  of  ale.  The  female  portion  of  the 
poorer  sort,  on  the  other  hand,  practised  what  was 
called  sowling,  viz.,  asking  for  *sowl,'  and  receiving, 
accordingly,  any  food  eaten  with  bread,  such  as 
cheese,  fish,  or  meat.  This  custom  is  still  main- 
tained, and  *  sowling  day '  fills  many  a  poor  woman's 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  259 


bag.     The  phrase  is  supposed  to  be  from  the  French 
soul,  signifying  one's  fill. 

IV. 

Connected  with  St.  Valentine's  Day,  there  is  no 
Welsh  custom  which  demands  notice  here ;  but 
it  is  perhaps  worthy  of  mention  that  nowhere  in 
the  world  is  the  day  more  abundantly  productive 
of  its  orthodox  crop — love-letters.  The  post-offices 
in  the  Principality  are  simply  deluged  with  these 
missives  on  the  eve  and  morning  of  St.  Valentine's. 
In  Cardiff  the  postmaster  thinks  himself  lucky  if 
he  gets  off  with  fifteen  thousand  letters  in  excess 
of  the  ordinary  mail.  Nineteen  extra  sorters  and 
carriers  were  employed  for  this  work  on  February 
14th,  1878,  and  the  regular  force  also  was  heavily 
worked  beyond  its  usual  hours.  The  custom  is 
more  Norman  than  Cambrian,  I  suppose  ;  the  word 
Valentine  comes  from  the  Norman  word  for  a 
lover,  and  the  saint  is  a  mere  accident  in  this 
connection. 

v. 

St.  Dewi  is  to  the  Welsh  what  St.  George  is 
to  the  English,  St.  Andrew  to  the  Scotch,  and 
St.  Patrick  to  the  Irish.  His  day  is  celebrated 
on  the  I  St  of  March  throughout  Wales,  and  indeed 
throughout  the  world  where  Welshmen  are.  In 
some  American  ports  (perhaps  all)  the  British  con- 
sulate displays  its  flag  in  honour  of  the  day.  In 
Wales  there  are  processions,  grand  dinners  ;  places 
of  business  are  closed ;  the  poor  are  banqueted  ; 
speeches  are  made  and  songs  are  sung.  The  most 
characteristic  feature  of  the  day  is  the  wearing  of 
the  leek.  This  feature  is  least  conspicuous,  it  may 
be  noted,  in  those  parts  of  Wales  where  the  English 
residents  are  fewest,  and  least  of  all  in  the  ultra- 


26o  British  ^Mtns. 

Welsh  shires  of  Cardigan  and  Carmarthen,  where 
St.  David  is  pecuHarly  honoured.  The  significance 
of  this  fact  no  doubt  Hes  in  the  absence  of  any 
necessity  for  asserting  a  Cambrianism  which  there 
are  none  to  dispute.  In  the  border  towns,  every 
Welshman  who  desires  to  assert  his  national  right 
wears  the  leek  in  his  hat  or  elsewhere  on  his 
person ;  but  in  the  shadow  of  St.  David's  College 
at  Lampeter,  not  a  leek  is  seen  on  St.  Dewi's  Day. 
In  Glamorganshire  may  be  found  the  order  of  ' 
Knights  of  the  Leek,  who  hold  high  festival  on  the  ; 
I  St  of  every  March,  gathering  in  the  Welsh  bards  \ 
and  men  of  letters.  \ 

Why  is  the  leek  worn  ?  Practically,  because  the  ] 
wearer  is  a  Welshman  who  honours  tradition.  But  i 
the  precise  origin  of  the  custom  is  involved  in  an 
obscurity  from  which  emerge  several  curious  and  \ 
interesting  traditions.  The  verses  cited  at  the  j 
opening  of  this  Part  refer  to  one  of  these  ;  they  j 
are  quoted  by  Manby^  without  other  credit  than  \ 
*  a  very  antient  manuscript.'  Another  tradition  is  1 
thus  given  in  a  pamphlet  of  1642:^  '  S.  David  ! 
when  hee  always  went  into  the  field  in  Martiall 
exercise  he  carried  a  Leek  with  him,  and  once  j 
being  almost  faint  to  death,  he  immediately  re-  1 
membred  himself  of  the  Leek,  and  by  that  means  j 
not  only  preserved  his  life  but  also  became  vie-  \ 
torious :  hence  is  the  Mythologie  of  the  Leek  de-  | 
rived.'  The  practice  is  traced  by  another  writer^  j 
to  '  the  custom  of  Cymhortha,  or  the  neighbourly    j 

1  '  Hist,  and  Ant.  of  the  Parish  of  St.  David,'  54.  ' 

2  '  The  Welchmen's  Ivbilee  to  the  honour  of  St.  David,  shewing  the  ' 
manner  of  that  solemn  celebration  which  the  Welchmen  annually  hold  ' 
in  honour  of  St.  David,  describing  likewise  the  trve  and  reall  cause  j 
why  they  wear  that  day  a  Leek  on  their  Hats,  with  an  excellent  merry  ' 
Sonnet  annexed  unto  it,  composed  by  T.  Morgan  Gent.  London. 
Printed  for  I.  Harrison.' 

3  Owen,  '  Camb.  Biog.'  86. 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  261 

aid  practised  among  farmers,  which  is  of  various 
kinds.  In  some  districts  of  South  Wales  all  the 
neighbours  of  a  small  farmer  without  means  appoint 
a  day  when  they  all  attend  to  plough  his  land,  and 
the  like ;  and  at  such  a  time  it  is  a  custom  for  each 
individual  to  bring  his  portion  of  leeks,  to  be  used 
in  making  pottage  for  the  whole  company ;  and 
they  bring  nothing  else  but  the  leeks  in  particular 
for  the  occasion.'  Some  find  the  true  origin  of  the 
custom  in  Druidical  days,  but  their  warrant  is  not 
clear,  nor  how  it  came  to  be  associated  with  the 
1st  of  March  in  that  case.  The  military  origin 
bears  down  the  scale  of  testimony,  and  gives  the 
leek  the  glory  of  a  Cambrian  victory  as  its  conse- 
crator  to  ornamental  purposes.  Whether  this 
victory  was  over  the  Saxon  or  the  Gaul  does  not 
exactly  appear  ;  some  traditions  say  one,  some  the 
other.  The  battle  of  Poictiers  has  been  named  ; 
also  that  of  Cressy,  where  the  Welsh  archers  did 
good  service  with  the  English  against  a  common 
enemy ;  but  an  older  tradition  is  to  the  effect  that 
the  Saxon  was  the  foe.  The  invaders  had  assumed 
the  dress  of  the  Britons,  that  they  might  steal  upon 
them  unsuspected ;  but  St.  David  ordered  the 
Welshmen  to  stick  leeks  in  their  caps  as  a  badge 
of  distinction.  This  he  did  merely  because  there 
was  a  large  field  of  leeks  growing  near  the  British 
camp.  The  precaution  gave  the  day  to  the  favoured 
of  St.  Dewi. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  have  been  found 
Englishmen  rude  enough  to  ridicule  this  honourable 
and  ancient  custom  of  the  Welsh,  though  why  they 
should  do  so  there  is  no  good  reason.  The  leek 
is  not  fragrant,  perhaps  ;  but  if  an  old  custom  must 
smell  sweet  or  be  laughed  at,  there  is  work  enough 
for  our  risibles  in   every  English  parish.     The  fol- 

s  2 


262  British  Goblins. 


lowing  is  one  of  the  foolish  legends  of  the  English 
respecting  the  leek :  '  The  Welsh  in  olden  days 
were  so  infested  by  ourang  outangs  that  they 
could  obtain  no  peace  day  or  night,  and  not  being 
themselves  able  to  extirpate  them  they  invited 
the  English  to  assist,  who  came ;  but  through 
mistake  killed  several  of  the  Welsh,  so  that  in 
order  to  distinguish  them  from  the  monkeys  they 
desired  them  to  stick  a  leek  in  their  hats.'  The 
author  of  this  ridiculous  tale  deserves  the  fate  of 
Pistol,  whom  Fluellen  compelled  to  eat  his  leek, 
skin  and  all. 

Flu.  I  peseech  you  heartily,  scurvy  lowsy  knave,  at  my  desires, 
and  my  requests,  and  my  petitions,  to  eat,  look  you,  this  leek ;  because, 
look  you,  you  do  not  love  it,  nor  your  affections,  and  your  appetites, 
and  your  digestions,  does  not  agree  with  it,  I  would  desire  you  to 
eat  it. 

Pist.     Not  for  Cadwallader,  and  all  his  goats. 

Flu.  There  is  one  goat  for  you.  [_Strikes  him.']  Will  you  be  so 
good,  scald  knave,  as  eat  it  ? 

Pist.     Base  Trojan,  thou  shalt  die. 

I{lu.  You  say  very  true,  scald  knave,  when  Got's  will  is  :  I  will 
desire  you  to  live  in  the  meantime,  and  eat  your  victuals.  ...  If  you 
can  mock  a  leek  you  can  eat  a  leek.  .  .  . 

Pist.     Quiet  thy  cudgel ;  thou  dost  see,  I  eat. 

Flu.  Much  goot  do  you,  scald  knave,  heartily.  Nay,  'pray  you, 
throw  none  away  ;  the  skin  is  goot  for  your  proken  coxcomb.  When 
you  take  occasions  to  see  leeks  hereafter,  I  pray  you,  mock  at  them  ! 
that  is  all.^ 


VI. 

The  traditional  St.  David  Is  a  brilliant  figure  In 
Welsh  story  ;  with  the  historical  character  this  work 
has  not  to  deal.  The  legendary  account  of  him 
represents  a  man  of  gigantic  stature  and  fabulous 
beauty,  whose  age  at  his  death  was  147  years.  He 
was  a  direct  descendant  of  the  sister  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  and  his  first  miracles  were  performed  while 
he  was  yet  unborn.  In  this  condition  he  regulated 
the  diet  of  his  virgin  mother,   and  struck  dumb  a 

1  Shaks.,  K.  Henry  V.,  Act  V.,  Sc.  i. 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  263 


preacher  who  presumed  to  preach  In  her  presence. 
At  the  hour  of  his  birth  St.  Dewi  performed  a 
miracle ;  another  when  he  was  baptized  ;  and  he 
was  taught  his  lessons  (at  a  place  called  The  Old 
Bush,  in  South  Wales)  by  a  pigeon  with  a  golden 
beak,  which  played  about  his  lips.  As  he  grew  up, 
his  miraculous  powers  waxed  stronger ;  and  magi- 
cians who  opposed  him  were  destroyed  by  fire  which 
he  called  from  heaven  to  consume  them.  Thirsty, 
a  fountain  rose  in  Glyn  Hodnant  at  his  call,  and 
from  this  fountain  ran  not  water  but  good  wine. 
When  he  went  about  the  country  he  was  always 
accompanied  by  an  angel.  On  the  banks  of  the 
river  Teify,  a  miserable  woman  wept  over  her  son 
who  lay  dead  ;  she  appealed  to  Dewi,  who  laid  hold 
of  the  boy's  right  hand  and  he  arose  from  the  dead 
as  if  from  a  sleep.  At  Llandewi  Brefi,  in  Cardigan- 
shire, as  he  was  preaching  on  the  surface  of  the  flat 
ground,  the  ground  rose  as  a  high  mount  under  his 
feet,  so  that  the  people  all  about  could  see  him  as 
well  as  hear  him.  A  labourer  lifted  his  pickaxe  to 
strike  a  friend  of  Dewi's,  which  the  saint  seeing 
from  afar  off,  raised  his  hand  and  willed  that  the 
labourer  s  hand  should  become  stiff — which  It  did. 
Another  friend,  going  away  to  Ireland,  forgot  and 
left  behind  him  a  little  bell  that  Dewi  had  given 
him  ;  but  Dewi  sent  the  bell  across  the  sea  by  an 
angel,  so  that  It  arrived  there  next  day  without  the 
aid  of  human  hands.  And  finally,  having  made  up 
his  mind  that  he  would  die  and  go  to  heaven,  he  did 
so — but  quite  of  his  own  will — at  his  own  request,  so 
to  speak.  Having  asked  that  his  soul  might  be 
taken,  an  angel  informed  him  It  would  be  taken  on 
the  first  of  March  proximo.  So  David  bade  his 
friends  good-bye  on  the  28th  of  February,  greatly 
to  their  distress.      'Alas!'    they  cried,    'the  earth 


264  British  Goblins. 


i 


will  not  swallow  us !  Alas !  fire  will  not  consume 
us !  Alas !  the  sea  will  not  come  over  the  land ! 
Alas  !  the  mountains  will  not  fall  to  cover  us  !  *  On 
Tuesday  night,  as  the  cocks  were  crowing,  a  host 
of  angels  thronged  the  streets  of  the  city,  and  filled 
it  with  joy  and  mirth  ;  and  Dewi  died.  '  The  angels 
took  his  soul  to  the  place  where  there  is  light 
without  end,  and  rest  without  labour,  and  joy  without 
sorrow,  and  plenty  of  all  good  things,  and  victory, 
and  brightness,  and  beauty/  There  Abel  is  with 
the  martyrs,  Noah  is  with  the  sailors,  Thomas  is 
with  the  Indians,  Peter  is  with  the  apostles,  Paul  is 
with  the  Greeks,  other  saints  are  with  other  suitable 
persons,  and  David  is  with  the  kings/ 

On  the  summit  which  rose  under  St.  Dewi  while 
he  stood  on  it  and  preached,  now  stands  St.  David's 
church,  at  Llandewi  Brefi.  In  the  days  of  its  glory 
—  i.e.  during  nearly  the  whole  period  of  Roman 
Catholic  rule — it  was  renowned  beyond  all  others  in 
Britain.  To  go  twice  to  St.  David's  was  deemed 
equal  to  going  once  to  Rome,  and  a  superstitious 
belief  prevailed  that  every  man  must  go  to  St. 
David's  once,  either  alive  or  dead.  William  the 
Conqueror  marched  through  Wales  in  hostile  array 
In  1080,  but  arriving  at  St.  David's  shrine  laid  aside 
the  warrior  for  the  votary. 


VII. 

St.  Patrick's  Day  is  celebrated  in  Wales  with 
much  enthusiasm.  The  Welsh  believe  that  St. 
Patrick  was  a  Welshman.  Born  at  Llandeilo  Taly- 
bont,  in  Glamorganshire,  and  educated  at  the  famous 
college  of  Llantwit  Major,  he  held  St.  David's  place 
till  the  coming  of  Dewi  was  announced  to  him  ; 
then  he  went  into  Ireland,  to  do  missionary  work, 

*     Cambro-British  Saints,'  402,  etc. 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  265 

as  it  were.  This  is  the  monastic  tale.  Patrick  was 
comfortably  settled  in  the  valley  of  Rosina,  and 
intended  to  pass  his  life  there,  but  an  angel  came  to 
him  and  said,  '  Thou  must  leave  this  place  to  one 
who  is  not  yet  born.*  Patrick  was  annoyed,  even 
angered,  but  obedient,  and  went  off  to  Ireland, 
where  he  became  a  great  man.  ^  The  story  of  the 
lolo  MSS.,  however,  presents  the  matter  in  a  dif- 
ferent light :  '  About  a.d.  420  the  Island  of  Britain 
seemed  to  have  neither  ruler  nor  proprietor.'  The 
Irish  took  advantage  of  this  state  of  things  to  invade 
and  oppress  Britain,  robbing  her  of  corn,  cattle,  '  and 
every  other  moveable  property  that  they  could  lay 
their  hands  on.'  Among  other  things,  they  stole 
away  St.  Patrick  from  the  college  at  Llantwit  Major, 
'  whence  that  college  became  destitute  of  a  principal 
and  teacher  for  more  than  forty  years,  and  fell  into 
dilapidation ' — a  condition  it  remains  in  at  present, 
by  the  way.  '  Patrick  never  returned  to  Wales, 
choosing  rather  to  reside  in  Ireland  ;  having  ascer- 
tained that  the  Irish  were  better  people  than  the 
Welsh,  in  those  times.'  ^  Still,  it  is  not  the  native 
Welsh  who  are  as  a  rule  the  celebrators  of  St. 
Patrick's  Day  in  Wales. 

VIII. 

Shrove  Tuesday  was  once  characterised  by  a  cus- 
tom called  throwing  at  cocks,  now  obsolete.  Hens 
which  had  laid  no  eggs  before  that  day  were  threshed 
with  a  flail,  as  being  good  for  nothing.  The  person 
who  hit  the  hen  with  the  flail  and  killed  her  got  her 
for  his  reward. 

The  more  reputable  custom  of  cramming  with 
crammwythau  (pancakes)  still  survives,  and  is  un- 
doubtedly of  extreme  antiquity. 

^  '  Cambro-British  Saints,'  403.  ^  Iq\q  mSS.,  455. 


266  British  Goblins, 


CHAPTER  II. 


I 

Flower- 


Sundry  Lenten  Customs— Mothering  Sunday — Palm  Sunday — FT 

ing  Sunday — Walking  Barefoot  to  Church — Spiritual  Potency  of 
Buns — Good  Friday  Superstitions — Making  Christ's  Bed — Bad 
Odour  of  Friday— Unlucky  Days — Holy  Thursday — The  Eagle  of 
Snowdon — New  Clothing  at  Easter — Lifting — The  Crown  of  Por- 
celain— Stocsio — Ball-Playing  in  Churchyards — The  Tump  of  Lies 
— Dancing  in  Churchyards— Seeing  the  Sun  Dance — Calan  Ebrill, 
or  All  Fools'  Day^ — May  Day — The  Welsh  Maypole — The  Daughter 
of  Lludd  Llaw  E'reint — Carrying  the  Kings  of  Summer  and  Winter. 

I. 

Wearing  mourning  throughout  Lent  was  formerly 
common  in  Wales.  In  Monmouthshire,  Mothering 
Sunday — the  visiting  of  parents  on  Mid- Lent  Sunday 
— was  observed  in  the  last  century,  but  is  nowhere 
popular  in  Wales  at  present.  Palm  Sunday  takes 
precedence  among  the  Welsh,  and  is  very  exten- 
sively and  enthusiastically  observed.  The  day  is 
called  Flowering  Sunday,  and  its  peculiar  feature 
is  strewing  the  graves  of  the  dead  with  flowers. 
The  custom  reaches  all  classes,  and  all  parts  of  the 
Principality.  In  the  large  towns,  as  Cardiff,  many 
thousands  of  people  gather  at  the  graves.  The 
custom  is  associated  with  the  strewing  of  palms 
before  Christ  on  his  entry  into  Jerusalem,  but  was 
observed  by  the  British  Druids  in  celebration  of  the 
awakening  life  of  the  earth  at  this  season. 

II. 

In  Pembrokeshire,  it  was  customary  up  to  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  to  walk  barefoot  to  church 
on   Good   Friday,   as  had   been    done   since   times 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  267 


prior  to  the  Reformation.  The  old  people  and  the 
young  joined  in  this  custom,  which  they  said  was 
done  so  as  not  to  '  disturb  the  earth.'  All  business 
was  suspended,  and  no  horse  nor  cart  was  to  be  seen 
in  the  town. 

Hot-cross  buns  also  figured  in  a  peculiar  manner 
at  this  time.  They  were  eaten  in  Tenby  after  the 
return  from  church.  After  having  tied  up  a  certain 
number  in  a  bag,  the  folk  hung  them  in  the  kitchen, 
where  they  remained  till  the  next  Good  Friday,  for 
use  as  m.edicine.  It  was  believed  that  persons 
labouring  under  any  disease  had  only  to  eat  a 
portion  of  a  bun  to  be  cured.  The  buns  so  pre- 
served were  used  also  as  a  panacea  for  all  the 
diseases  of  domestic  animals.  They  were  further 
believed  to  be  serviceable  in  frightening  away 
goblins  of  an  evil  sort. 

That  these  buns  are  of  Christian  invention  is  the 
popular  belief,  and  indeed  this  notion  is  not  alto- 
gether exploded  among  the  more  intelligent  classes. 
Their  connection  with  the  cross  of  the  Saviour  is 
possible  by  adoption — as  the  early  Christians 
adopted  many  pagan  rites  and  customs — but  that 
they  date  back  to  pre-historic  times  there  is 
abundant  testimony. 

Innumerable  are  the  superstitious  customs  and 
beliefs  associated  with  Good  Friday.  In  Pembroke- 
shire there  was  a  custom  called  '  making  Christ's 
bed.'  A  quantity  of  long  reeds  were  gathered 
from  the  river  and  woven  into  the  shape  of  a  man. 
This  effigy  was  then  stretched  on  a  wooden  cross, 
and  laid  in  some  retired  field  or  garden,  and  left 
there. 

The  birth  of  a  child  on  that  day  is  very  unlucky — 
indeed  a  birth  on  any  Friday  of  the  whole  year  is  to 
be  deprecated  as  a  most  unfortunate  circumstance. 


268  BrthshGoSltns. 


III. 

The  bad  odour  in  which  Friday  is  everywhere 
held  is  naturally  associated,  among  Christians,  with 
the  crucifixion ;  but  this  will  not  account  for  the 
existence  of  a  like  superstition  regarding  Friday 
among  the  Brahmins  of  India,  nor  for  the  preva- 
lence of  other  lucky  and  unlucky  days  among  both 
Aryan  and  Mongolian  peoples.  In  the  Middle  Ages 
Monday  and  Tuesday  were  unlucky  days.  A 
Welshman  who  lived  some  time  in  Russia,  tells 
me  Monday  is  deemed  a  very  unlucky  day  there, 
on  which  no  business  must  be  begun.  In  some 
English  districts  Thursday  is  the  unlucky  day.  In 
Norway  it  is  lucky,  especially  for  marrying.  In 
South  Wales,  Friday  is  the  fairies'  day,  when  they 
have  special  command  over  the  weather ;  and  it  is 
their  whim  to  make  the  weather  on  Friday  dififer 
from  that  of  the  other  days  of  the  week.  '  When 
the  rest  of  the  week  is  fair,  Friday  is  apt  to  be 
rainy,  or  cloudy ;  and  when  the  weather  is  foul, 
Friday  is  apt  to  be  more  fair.' 

The  superstitious  prejudice  of  the  quarrymen  in 
North  Wales  regarding  Holy  Thursday  has  been 
cited.  It  is  not  a  reverential  feeling,  but  a  purely 
superstitious  one,  and  has  pervaded  the  district  from 
ancient  times.  It  has  been  supposed  that  Thursday 
was  a  sacred  day  among  the  Druids.  There  is  a 
vulgar  tradition  (mentioned  by  Giraldus),  that 
Snowdon  mountains  are  frequented  by  an  eagle, 
which  perches  on  a  fatal  stone  on  every  Thursday 
and  whets  her  beak  upon  it,  expecting  a  battle  to 
occur,  upon  which  she  may  satiate  her  hunger  with 
the  carcases  of  the  slain  ;  but  the  battle  is  ever 
deferred,  and  the  stone  has  become  almost  per- 
forated with  the  eagle's  sharpening  her  beak  upon 


i 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  269 

it.  There  may  perhaps  be  a  connection  traced 
between  these  superstitions  and  the  Hghtning-god 
Thor,  whose  day  Thursday  was. 

IV. 

Easter  is  marked  by  some  striking  customs.  It 
is  deemed  essential  for  one's  well-being  that  some 
new  article  of  dress  shall  be  donned  at  this  time, 
though  it  be  nothing  more  than  a  new  ribbon.  This 
is  also  a  Hampshire  superstition.  A  servant  of 
mine,  born  in  Hampshire,  used  always  to  say,  '  If 
you  don't  have  on  something  new  Easter  Sun- 
day the  dogs  will  spit  at  you.'  This  custom  is 
associated  with  Easter  baptism,  when  a  new  life  was 
assumed  by  the  baptized,  clothed  in  righteousness 
as  a  garment.  A  ceremony  called  '  lifting '  is 
peculiar  to  North  Wales  on  Easter  Monday  and 
Tuesday.  On  the  Monday  bands  of  men  go  about 
with  a  chair,  and  meeting  a  woman  in  the  street 
compel  her  to  sit,  and  be  lifted  three  times  in  the 
air  amidst  their  cheers  :  she  is  then  invited  to  bestow 
a  small  compliment  on  her  entertainers.  This  per- 
formance is  kept  up  till  twelve  o'clock,  when  it 
ceases.  On  Easter  Tuesday  the  women  take  their 
turn,  and  go  about  in  like  manner  lifting  the  men. 
It  has  been  conjectured  that  in  this  custom  an 
allusion  to  the  resurrection  is  intended. 

A  custom,  the  name  of  which  is  now  lost,  was 
that  the  village  belle  should  on  Easter  Eve  and 
Easter  Tuesday  carry  on  her  head  a  piece  of 
chinaware  of  curious  shape,  made  expressly  for  this 
purpose,  and  useless  for  any  other.  It  may  be 
described  as  a  circular  crown  of  porcelain,  the 
points  whereof  were  cups  and  candles.  The  cups 
were  solid  details  of  the  crown  :  the  candles  were 
stuck  with  clay  upon  the  spaces  between  the  cups. 


270 


British  Goblins. 


The  cups  were  filled  with  a  native  beverage  called 
bragawd,  and  the  candles  were  lighted.     To  drink 


LiFTiNc;.     {From  an  old  di'mving.) 


the  liquor  without  burning  yourself  or  the  damsel 
at    the  candle    was    the    difficulty   involved  in  thisj 


Quaint  Old  Cttstoms.  271 


performance.     A    stanza  was    sung   by  the   young 
woman's  companions,  the  last  Hne  of  which  was, 

Rhag  i'r  feinwen  losgi  ei  thalcen. 
(Lest  the  maiden  burn  her  forehead.^) 

Stocsio  is  an  Easter  Monday  custom  observed 
from  time  immemorial  in  the  town  of  Aberconwy, 
and  still  practised  there  in  1835.  On  Easter 
Sunday  crowds  of  men  and  boys  carrying  wands 
of  gorse  went  to  Pen  Twthil,  and  there  proclaimed 
the  laws  and  regulations  of  the  following  day. 
They  were  to  this  effect :  all  men  under  sixty  to 
be  up  and  out  before  6  a.m.  ;  all  under  forty,  before 
4  A.M.  ;  all  under  twenty,  to  stay  up  all  night. 
Penalty  for  disobedience :  the  stocks.  The  crier 
who  delivered  this  proclamation  was  the  man  last 
married  in  the  town  previous  to  Easter  Sunday. 
Other  like  rules  were  proclaimed,  amid  loud  cheers. 
Early  next  morning  a  party,  headed  by  a  fife  and 
drum,  patrolled  the  town  with  a  cart,  in  search  of 
delinquents.  When  one  was  discovered,  he  was 
hauled  from  his  bed  and  made  to  dress  himself; 
then  put  in  the  cart  and  dragged  to  the  stocks. 
His  feet  being  secured  therein,  he  was  duly  lectured 
on  the  sin  of  laziness,  and  of  breaking  an  ancient 
law  of  the  town  by  lying  abed  in  violation  thereof. 
His  right  hand  was  then  taken,  and  he  was  asked  a 
lot  of  absurd  questions,  such  as  '  Which  do  you  like 
best,  the  mistress  or  the  maid  ? '  *  Which  do  you 
prefer,  ale  or  buttermilk  ? '  'If  the  gate  of  a  field 
were  open,  would  you  go  through  it,  or  over  the 
stile  ? '  and  the  like.  His  answers  being  received 
with  derision,  his  hand  was  smeared  with  mud, 
and  he  was  then  released  amid  cheers.  '  This 
sport,  which  would  be  impracticable  in  a  larger  and 

^  Arch.  Camb.  4  Sc.,  iii.,  334. 


272  BrtttsnGoblins. 


less   intimate    community,    is   continued   with    the 
greatest  good  humour  until  eight ;   when  the  rest      ! 
of  the  day  is  spent  in  playing  ball  at  the  Castle.'  ^  j 

Ball-playing  against  the  walls  of  the  churcn 
between  hours  of  service  was  a  fashion  of  Easter  I 
which  is  within  recollection.  It  was  also  common 
on  the  Sabbath  day  itself  in  many  parishes,  in  the 
days  when  dissent  was  unknown  and  parishioners 
had  long  distances  to  traverse  on  a  Sunday ; 
*  and  that,  too,  with  the  sanction  of  the  clergyman, 
and  even  his  personal  superintendence.  Old  people 
can  remember  such  a  state  of  things,  when  the 
clergyman  gave  notice  that  the  game  must  cease 
by  putting  the  ball  into  his  pocket  and  marched  his 
young  friends  Into  church.'  ^  Nowhere  less  than  in  a 
custom  like  this  would  the  ordinary  observer  look 
for  traditionary  significance  ;  yet  there  is  no  doubt 
our  Easter  eggs  are  but  another  surviving  form  of 
the  same  ancient  rite.  Before  the  Reformation 
there  was  a  Church  of  England  custom  of  playing 
ball  in  church  at  Easter,  according  to  Dr.  Fos- 
brooke,  the  dean  and  clergy  participating. 

There  were  other  sports  and  pastimes  common 
alike  to  Easter  and  to  the  Sabbath  day,  which  are 
full  of  curious  interest.  Some  of  them  no  doubt 
arose  out  of  the  social  exigencies  of  sparsely  settled 
neighbourhoods,  which  caused  people  to  remain  at 
the  church  between  services,  instead  of  returning  to 
distant  homes  ;  but  a  Druidic  origin  seems  neces- 
sary to  account  for  others.  That  the  people  should 
between  services  gather  near  the  church  to  talk 
over  the  gossip  of  the  day,  is  natural  enough,  and 


^  *  Hist,  and  Ant.  of  Aberconwy,'  108. 
^  '  Arch.  Camb.'  4  Se.,  iii.,  333. 


I 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  273 

is  a  phenomenon  which  may  still  be  witnessed  in 
remote  parts  of  the  United  States.  In  St.  Dog- 
mell's  parish,  Pembrokeshire,  there  is  a  tump  which 
bears  the  name  of  '  Cnwc  y  Celwydd,'  videHcet,  the 
Tump  of  Lies.  Here  were  men  and  women 
formerly  in  the  habit  of  gathering  together  on  the 
Lord's  day  in  great  crowds,  and  entertaining  each 
other  with  the  inventing  and  telling  of  the  most 
lying  and  wonderful  yarns  they  could  conjure  up 
with  the  aid  of  an  imagination  spurred  to  exercise 
by  rivalry  and  applause.  The  custom  is  discon- 
tinued ;  but  there  is  still  hardly  a  neighbourhood  in 
Wales  so  rich  in  tales  of  fairies  and  other  goblins. 

The  custom  of  dancing  in  churchyards  was 
common  in  many  parts  of  the  Principality  in  the 
early  part  of  this  century.  At  Aberedwy,  Malkin 
saw  a  large  yew  tree  in  the  churchyard  under  which 
as  many  as  sixty  couples  had  been  seen  dancing  at 
once.^  The  dancing  was  not  in  that  part  of  the 
yard  consecrated  to  the  dead,  but  on  the  north  side 
of  the  church,  where  it  was  not  the  custom  to  bury. 
A  tradition  is  preserved  by  Giraldus  of  a  solemn 
festival  dance  which  took  place  in  the  churchyard  at 
St,  Almedha's  church,  Breconshire,  on  that  saints 
day.  The  dance  was  'led  round  the  churchyard 
with  a  song,'  and  succeeded  by  the  dancers  falling 
down  in  a  trance,  followed  by  a  sort  of  religious 
frenzy.  This  is  believed  to  have  been  a  Druidical 
rite,  described  on  hearsay  by  Giraldus,  and  embel- 
lished by  him  with  those  pious  inventions  not 
uncommon  in  his  day. 

One  of  the  customs  of  Easter,  at  a  comparatively 
recent  period  in  Wales,  was  getting  the  children  up 
early  in  the  morning  to  see  the  sun  dance.  This 
exercise  the  sun  was  said  to  perform   at  rising  on 

^  Malkin's  '  South  Wales,'  281. 


British  Goblins. 


Easter  Day,  In  honour  of  the  rising  of  our  Lord. 
The  sun  was  sometimes  aided  in  this  performance 
by  a  bowl  of  clear  water,  into  which  the  youth  must 
look  to  see  the  orb  dance,  as  it  would  be  dangerous 
to  look  directly  on  the  sun  while  thus  engaged. 
The  religious  dance  of  the  ancient  Druids  is 
believed  to  exist  in  modern  times  in  a  round  dance 
wherein  the  figures  imitate  the  motions  of  the  sun 
and  moon.  The  ball-playing  in  church  mentioned 
above  was  also  accompanied  by  dancing. 

VI. 

The  first  of  April  Is  In  Welsh  called  Calan  Ebrlll, 
and  an  April  Fool  a  Ffwl  Ebrill  ;  the  similarity  of 
English  and  Welsh  words  may  be  said  to  typify  the 
similarity  of  observance.  The  universality  of  this 
observance  among  Aryan  peoples  would  certainly 
indicate  an  origin  in  a  time  preceding  the  dispersion 
of  the  human  family  over  the  world.  The  Druids, 
tradition  says,  celebrated  the  revival  of  Nature's 
powers  In  a  festival  which  culminated  on  the  first 
of  April  in  the  most  hilarious  foolery.  The  Roman 
Saturnalia  or  feast  of  fools  perpetuated  the  rite, 
though  the  purpose  of  the  Christian  revelry  may 
quite  possibly  have  been  to  ridicule  the  Druidic 
ceremonies. 

The  festivities  of  May-day  are  in  like  manner 
associated  with  the  powers  of  Nature,  whose  vigour 
and  productiveness  were  symbolized  by  the  Maypole 
round  which  village  lads  and  lasses  danced.  The 
rites  of  love  were  variously  celebrated  at  this  time, 
and  some  of  these  customs  locally  have  long  sur- 
vived the  Maypole  Itself.  The  ordinance  for  the 
destruction  of  Maypoles  In  England  and  Wales, 
printed  In  1 644,  declared  them  *  a  heathenish  vanity, 
generally  abused   to  superstition  and  wickedness,' 


Quamt  Old  Customs. 


75 


wherefore  it  was  ordained  that  they  should  be 
destroyed,  and  that  no  Maypole  should  thereafter 
be  '  set  up,  erected,  or  suffered  to  be  within  this 
kingdom  of  England  or  dominion  of  Wales.' 

The  Maypole  in  Wales  was  called  Bedwen,  be- 
cause it  was  always  made  of  birch,  bedw,  a  tree  still 
associated  with  the  gentler  emotions.  To  give  a 
lover  a  birchen  branch,  is  for  a  maiden  to  accept 
his  addresses  ;  to  give  him  a  collen,  or  hazel,  the 
reverse.  Games  of  various  sorts  were  played  around 
the  bedwen.  The  fame  of  a  village  depended  on 
its  not  being  stolen  away,  and  parties  were  con- 
stantly on  the  alert  to  steal  the  bedwen,  a  feat  which, 
when  accomplished,  was  celebrated  with  peculiar 
festivities.  This  rivalry  for  the  possession  of  the 
Maypole  was  probably  typical  of  the  ancient  idea 
that  the  first  of  May  was  the  boundary  day  divid- 
ing the  confines  of  winter  and  summer,  when  a 
fight  took  place  between  the  powers  of  the  air, 
on  the  one  hand  striving  to  continue  the  reign  of 
winter,  on  the  other  to  establish  that  of  summer. 
Here  may  be  cited  the  Mabinogi  of  Kilhwch  and 
Olwen,  where  it  speaks  of  the  daughter  of  Llud 
Llaw  Ereint.  *  She  was  the  most  splendid  maiden 
in  the  three  Islands  of  the  Mighty,  and  in  the  three 
Islands  adjacent,'  and  for  her  does  Gwyn  ap  Nudd, 
the  fairy  king,  fight  every  first  of  May  till  the 
day  of  doom.^  She  was  to  have  been  the  bride  of 
Gwythyr,  the  son  of  Greidawl,  when  Gwyn  ap  Nudd 
carried  her  off  by  force.  The  bereaved  bridegroom 
followed,  and  there  was  a  bloody  struggle,  in  which 
Gwyn  was  victorious,  and  which  he  signalized  by 
an  act  of  frightful  cruelty  ;  he  slew  an  old  warrior, 
took  out  his  heart  from  his  breast,  and  constrained 
the  warrior's  son  to  eat   the  heart  of  his   father. 


Mabinogion,'  229. 


270  British  Goblins. 


When  Arthur  heard  of  this  he  summoned  Gwyn  ap 
Nudd  before  him,  and  deprived  him  of  the  fruits 
of  his  victory.  But  he  condemned  the  two  com- 
batants to  fight  for  the  radiant  maiden  henceforth 
for  ever  on  every  first  of  May  till  doomsday  ;  the 
victor  on  that  day  to  possess  the  maiden.^ 

VIII. 

In  the  remote  and  primitive  parish  of  Defynog,  \ 

in  Breconshire,  until   a  few  years  since,  a  custom  ! 

survived  of  carrying  the  King  of  Summer  and  the  \ 

King  of  Winter.     Two  boys  were  chosen  to  serve  \ 

as  the  two  kings,  and  were  covered  all  over  with  a  ! 
dress  of  brigau  bedw,  (birchen  boughs,)  only  their 
faces  remaining  visible.     A  coin  was  tossed  and  the 

boy  chosen  was  the  summer  king  ;  a  crown  of  bright-  \ 

hued  ribbons  was  put  upon  his  head.    Upon  the  other  j 

boy's  head  was  placed  a  crown  of  holly,  to  designate  \ 

the  winter  king.     Then  a  procession  was  formed,  < 

headed  by  two  men  with  drawn  swords  to  clear  the  | 

way.     Four  men  supported  the  summer  king  upon  ' 
two  poles,  one  under  his  knees  and  the  other  under 
his  arms  ;  and  four  others  bore  the  winter  king  in  a 

similar  undignified  posture.     The  procession  passed  \ 

round  the  village  and  to  the  farm-houses  near  by,  : 

collecting  largess  of  coin  or  beer,  winding  up  the  S 

perambulation  at  the  churchyard.     Here  the  boys  | 

were  set  free,  and  received  a  dole  for  their  services,  j 

the  winter  king  getting  less  than  the  other.  ^ 

Another   May-day   custom   among   the   boys   of  •' 

that  parish,  was  to  carry  about  a  rod,  from  which  \ 

the  bark  had  been  partly  peeled  in  a  spiral  form,  j 

and  upon  the  top  of  which  was  set  either  a  cock  or  | 

a  cross,  the  bearers  waking  the  echoes  of  the  village  \ 
with  *  Yo  ho  !  yo  ho  !  yo  ho  ! '  ^ 

*  '  Mabinogion,'  2^1,  ^  'Arch.  Camb.,'  2  Se.,  iv.,  326. 


(     277     ) 


CHAPTER  III. 

Midsummer  Eve — The  Druidic  Ceremonies  at  Pontypridd — The  Snake 
Stone — Beltane  Fires — Fourth  of  July  Fires  in  America — St.  Ulric's 
Day — Carrying  Cynog — Marketing  on  Tombstones — The  First 
Night  of  Winter — The  Three  Nights  for  Spirits — The  Tale  of 
Thomas  Williams  the  Preacher — All  Hallows  Eve  Festivities — 
Running  through  Fire — Quaint  Border  Rhymes — The  Puzzling  Jug 
— Bobbing  for  Apples— The  Fiery  Features  of  Guy  Fawkes'  Day — 
St.  Clement's  Day — Stripping  the  Carpenter. 


Midsummer  Eve,  or  St.  John's  Eve  (June  23rd),  Is 
one  of  the  ancient  Druldic  festivals,  still  liberally 
honoured  In  Wales.  The  custom  of  lighting  bonfires 
survives  In  some  of  the  villages,  and  at  Pontypridd 
there  are  ceremonies  of  a  solemn  sort.  Midsummer 
Eve,  In  1878,  fell  on  a  Sunday.  Upon  that  day  the 
•  Druids  and  bards '  at  Pontypridd  held  the  usual 
feast  of  the  summer  solstice  In  the  face  of  the  sun. 
There  Is  a  breezy  common  on  the  top  of  a  high  hill 
overlooking  the  town,  where  stand  a  logan  stone 
and  a  circle  of  upright  stones  constituting  the 
'temple  of  the  Druids.'  Here  It  Is  the  custom  of 
the  present-day  adherents  of  that  ancient  religion, 
beside  which  Christianity  Is  an  Infant,  to  celebrate 
their  rites  'within  the  folds  of  the  serpent,'  a  circle 
marked  with  the  signs  of  the  zodiac.  The  venerable 
archdruld,  Myfyr  Morganwg,  stands  on  the  logan 
stone,  with  a  mistletoe  sprig  In  his  button-hole,  and 
prays  to  the  god  Kali,  '  creator  of  sun,  moon,  stars, 
and  universe.'  Then  the  white-bearded  old  man 
delivers  a  discourse,  and  new  members  are  initiated 
into  the  '  mysteries.'     Occasionally  these  new  mem- 

T  2 


27B  British  Goblins. 


bers  are  Americans  from  over  the  sea,  and  they 
include  both  sexes.  Large  crowds  gather  to  witness 
the  impressive  spectacle — a  shadow  of  the  ancient 
rites  when  from  Belenian  heights  flamed  high  the 
sacrificial  fires.  It  was  a  former  beHef  that  these 
fires  protected  the  lands  within  their  light  from  the 
machinations  of  sorcery,  so  that  good  crops  would 
follow,  and  that  their  ashes  were  valuable  as  a 
medicinal  charm. 

The  Snake-stone  is  another  striking  Welsh  tradi- 
tion, associated  with  Midsummer  eve.  At  this  time 
of  the  year  there  are  certain  convocations  of  snakes, 
which,  hissing  sociably  together  among  one  another, 
hiss  forth  a  mystic  bubble,  which  hardens  into  the 
semblance  of  a  glass  ring.  The  finder  of  this  ring 
is  a  lucky  man,  for  all  his  undertakings  will  prosper 
while  he  retains  it.  These  rings  are  called  Gleiniau 
Nadroedd  in  Welsh — snake-stones  in  English.  They 
are  supposed  to  have  been  used  by  the  ancient 
Druids  as  charms.  There  is  a  Welsh  saying, 
respecting  people  who  lay  their  heads  together  in 
conversation,  that  the  talkers  are  'blowing  the  gem.' 

11. 

The  traditions  connected  with  the  Beltane  fires 
are  very  interesting,  but  the  subject  has  received  so 
much  attention  in  published  volumes  that  it  need 
not  here  be  dwelt  upon.  The  lad  who  in  the  United 
States  capers  around  a  bonfire  on  the  night  of  Inde- 
pendence Day  has  not  a  suspicion  that  he  is  imi- 
tating the  rites  of  an  antiquity  the  most  remote ; 
that  in  burning  a  heap  of  barrels  and  boxes  in  a 
public  square  the  celebrators  of  the  American  Fourth 
of  July  imitate  the  priests  who  thus  worshipped  the 
sun-god  Beal.  The  origins  of  our  most  familiar 
customs   are   constantly  being   discovered   in   such 


\ 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  279 

directions  as  this.  On  the  face  of  the  thing,  nothing 
could  be  more  absurd  as  a  mode  of  jolHfication,  in  a 
little  American  town,  with  its  wooden  architecture, 
on  a  hot  night  in  the  midst  of  summer,  than  building 
a  roarlnof  fire  to  make  the  air  still  hotter  and  en- 
danger  the  surrounding  houses.  The  reason  for  the 
existence  of  such  a  custom  must  be  sought  in  another 
land  and  another  time  ;  had  reflection  governed  the 
matter,  instead  of  tradition,  the  American  anniver- 
sary would  have  found  some  more  fitting  means  of 
celebration  than  Druidic  fires  and  Chinese  charms. 
(For  it  may  be  mentioned  further,  In  this  connection, 
that  the  fire-crackers  of  our  urchins  are  quite  as 
superstitious  in  their  original  purpose  as  the  bonfire 
is.  In  China,  even  to  this  day,  fire-crackers  are 
charms  pure  and  simple,  their  office  to  drive  away 
evil  spirits,  their  use  as  a  means  of  jollification  quite 
unknown  to  their  inventors.)  A  far  more  sensible 
Midsummer  rite,  especially  in  a  hot  country,  would 
have  been  to  adopt  the  custom  of  St.  Ulric's  day, 
and  eat  fish.  This  saint's  day  falls  on  the  fourth  of 
July,  and  Barnabe  Googe's  translation  of  Naogeor- 
gius  has  this  couplet  concerning  it : 

Wheresoeuer  Huldryche  hath  his  place,  the  people  there  brings  in 
Both  carpes  and  pykes,  and  mullets  fat,  his  fauour  here  to  win. 

III. 

The  Welsh  saint  called  Cynog  was  one  of  the 
numberless  children  of  that  famous  old  patriarch 
Brychan  Brycheiniog,  and  had  his  memory  honoured, 
until  a  comparatively  recent  period,  in  the  parish 
of  Defynog.  Here,  on  this  saint's  feast  Monday, 
which  fell  in  October,  there  was  a  custom  called 
'  carrying  Cynog.'  Cynog  was  represented  by  a 
man  who  was  paid  for  his  services  with  money,  or 
with  a  suit  of  clothes — sometimes  a  '  stranger '  from 


2  8o  British  Gob  lifts. 


an  adjoining  parish,  but  on  the  last  recorded 
occasion  a  drunken  farmer  of  the  neighbourhood. 
He  was  clad  in  dilapidated  garments,  and  borne 
through  the  village ;  after  which  he  was  tumbled 
headlong  into  the  river  amid  the  jeers  of  the  crowd, 
to  scramble  out  as  best  he  might.  It  was  not  a 
very  respectful  way  of  commemorating  a  saint  who 
had  been  buried  a  thousand  years  or  thereabouts  ; 
but  such  as  it  was  it  died  out  early  in  the  present 
century.  The  ducking  which  ended  the  perform- 
ance has  been  supposed  to  be  a  puritan  improve- 
ment on  what  was  before  a  religious  ceremony,  or 
mystery.  It  is  more  than  possibly  a  relic  of  the 
Druidic  sacrificial  rites ;  in  cases  where  a  river  ran 
near,  at  the  time  of  the  Beltane  fires,  a  sacrifice  by 
water  was  substituted  for  that  of  flame. 

The  feast  of  St.  Cynog  continued  for  a  week. 
On  the  Tuesday  there  was  a  singular  marketing  in 
the  churchyard  ;  from  all  about  the  farmers  brought 
their  tithe  of  cheese,  and  taking  it  to  the  church- 
yard, laid  it  on  the  tombstones,  where  it  was  sold 
for  the  parson's  behoof. 

> 

IV. 

All  Hallows  eve  is  by  the  Welsh  called  '  Nos  Calan 
Gauaf,'  meanhig  'the  first  night  of  winter;'  some- 
times, *  Nos  Cyn  Gauaf,'  the  'night  before  winter.' 
It  is  one  of  the  *  Teir  Nos  Ysprydnos,'  or  '  three 
nights  for  spirits,'  upon  which  ghosts  walk,  fairies 
are  abroad,  mysterious  influences  are  in  the  air, 
strange  sights  are  seen,  and  in  short  goblins  of 
every  sort  are  to  be  with  special  freedom  encoun- 
tered. They  may  be  conjured  to  appear,  by  certain 
enchantments,  and  to  give  their  visitors  glimpses 
of  the  future,  especially  as  regards  the  subject  of 
marrying.     On  this  night  it   is  customary  for  the 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  281 

young  people,  gathered  in  many  a  merry  circle,  to 
seek  by  tricks  and  charms  of  various  sort  to  become 
acquainted  with  their  future  lovers  and  sweethearts. 
Not  that  it  is  always  necessary  to  employ  such 
aids,  for  on  the  Teir  Nos  Ysprydnos  the  phantoms 
of  future  companions  have  been  known  to  appear 
unsummoned  There  are  many  such  stories  as  that 
of  Thomas  Williams,  the  preacher,  who  slept  in  the 
hills  on  a  Nos  Ysprydnos,  and  although  he  used  no 
charms  nor  tricks  of  any  sort,  he  saw  his  future  wife. 
As  he  was  just  about  putting  out  his  light,  having 
jumped  into  bed,  the  door  opened  and  the  goblin 
mother  of  the  young  woman  he  subsequently 
married  walked  into  the  room,  leading  her  daughter. 
*  Here,  Thomas,'  said  she,  '  1  am  going,  but  I 
leave  you  Mary.'  And  when  he  came  down  home 
out  of  the  mountains  he  found  that  the  old  mother 
had  died  in  her  bed  at  the  very  moment  he  saw  her 
goblin.  To  have  done  less  than  marry  the  girl,  after 
that,  would  have  been  to  insult  the  good  old  lady's 
ghost,  and  cast  reflections  on  the  reputation  of  All 
Hallows  eve. 

The  two  other  spirit-nights,  it  may  here  be 
mentioned,  are  May-day  eve  and  Midsummer  eve  ; 
which  with  All  Hallows  were  three  great  festivals 
of  the  ancient  Druids,  when  they  commemorated 
the  powers  of  Nature  and  love  in  the  manner  which 
has  been  alluded  to.  I  have  two  accounts  of  this 
matter,  however,  and  I  know  not  which  is  the  older 
in  tradition,  as  I  have  both  from  the  mouths  of  the 
people  ;  but  one  account  calls  Christmas-night  the 
third  spirit-night. 

The  festivities  of  All  Hallows  in  Wales  are  in 
the  main  like  those  of  other  Christian  lands,  in  so 
far  as  they  consist  of  feasting  and  making  merry. 
Bonfires  were  kindled  in  many  places  until  recently, 


282  British  Goblins, 


and  perhaps  are  still,  in  some  parts,  again  in  pur- 
suance of  the  Druidic  rites,  which  the  Christian 
Church  adopted  and  continued  while  changing  their 
significance.  In  Owen's  account  of  the  Bards 
occurs  a  curious  description  of  the  autumnal  fires 
kindled  in  North  Wales  on  the  eve  of  the  first  of 
November,  and  the  attendant  ceremonies.  There 
was  running  through  the  fire  and  smoke,  and  casting 
of  stones  into  the  fire,  '  all  running  off  at  the  con- 
clusion to  escape  from  the  black  short-tailed  sow.'  ^ 
This  custom  of  running  through  the  fire  is  said  to 
survive  in  Ireland.  It  is  no  doubt  related  to  the 
ancient  sacrificial  rites.  As  testimonies  to  the  kin- 
ship of  our  race,  all  these  customs  possess  a  deep 
interest,  which  is  increased  in  this  direction  as  they 
lose  in  the  charm  of  the  unique. 

On  the  Welsh  Border  there  prevails  a  Hallow-      . 
e'en  custom  among  the  children  of  going  about  to     j 

thp  hnnc;pc;  Qi'no-ino*  thp  rhvmpQ  -whirh  fnlloAAf  !  t 


the  houses  singing  the  rhymes  which  follow 

Wissel  wassel,  bread  and  possel, 
Cwrw  da,  pi  as  yma  : 
An  apple  or  a  pear,  a  plum  or  a  cherry. 
Or  any  good  thing  to  make  us  merry. 

Sol  cakes,  sol  cakes, 

Pray  you,  good  missus,  a  sol  cake  ; 

One  for  Peter,  and  two  for  Paul, 

And  three  for  the  good  man  that  made  us  all. 

The  roads  are  very  dirty, 

My  shoes  are  very  thin, 
I've  got  a  little  pocket. 

To  put  a  penny  in. 
Up  with  the  kettle  and  down  with  the  pan, 
Give  us  an  answer  and  we'll  be  gan. 

{A  loud  rap  at  the  door.) 
Spoken.     Please  to  give  us  a  'apenny. 

Some  of  these  rhymes  are  heard  in  Glamorgan- 
shire and  elsewhere  at  Christmas  and  New  Year's. 

^  Brand,  '  Pop.  Ant.,'  i.,  191. 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  283 

The  puzzling  jug  is  a  vessel  in  use  in  some  quar- 
ters as  a  means  of  increasing  the  hilarity  of  a  Hallow- 
e'en party.  It  is  a  stone  jug,  '  out  of  which  each 
person  is  compelled  to  drink.  From  the  brim,  ex- 
tending about  an  inch  below  the  surface,  it  has  holes 
fantastically  arranged  so  as  to  appear  like  orna- 
mental work,  and  which  are  not  perceived  except  by 
the  perspicacious  ;  three  projections,  of  the  size  and 
shape  of  marbles,  are  around  the  brim,  having  a  hole 
of  the  size  of  a  pea  in  each  ;  these  communicate 
with  the  bottom  of  the  jug  through  the  handle,  which 
is  hollow,  and  has  a  small  hole  at  the  top,  which, 
with  two  of  the  holes  being  stopped  by  the  fingers, 
and  the  mouth  applied  to  the  one  nearest  the  handle, 
enables  one  to  suck  the  contents  with  ease  ;  but  this 
trick  is  unknown  to  every  one,  and  consequently  a 
stranger  generally  makes  some  mistake,  perhaps 
applying  his  mouth  as  he  would  to  another  jug,  in 
which  case  the  contents  (generally  ale)  issue  through 
the  fissures  on  his  person,  to  the  no  small  diversion 
of  the  spectators. '  ^ 

Another  merry  custom  of  All  Hallows  was — and 
is — twco  am  'falau,  bobbing  for  apples.  A  large 
tub  (crwc)  is  brought  into  the  kitchen  of  a  farm- 
house and  filled  with  water;  a  dozen  apples  are 
thrown  into  it,  and  the  rustic  youths  bob  for  them 
with  their  mouths.  To  catch  up  two  apples  at  a 
single  mouthful  is  a  triumphant  achievement.  Again 
the  revellers  will  form  a  semicircle  before  the  fire, 
while  there  depends  above  their  mouths  from  a  hook 
in  the  ceiling,  a  string  with  a  stick  attached.  At 
one  end  of  the  stick  is  an  apple,  at  the  other  end  a 
candle.  To  snatch  the  apple  with  the  lips,  and  yet 
avoid  the  candle,  is  the  aim  of  the  competitors. 
The  stick  is  so  hung  that  it  turns  easily  on  its  axis, 

1  '  Camb.  Sup.,'  I74- 


284  British  Goblins. 


and  the  bobbers  often  find  themselves  catching  the 
candle  In  their  hair  while  aiming  at  the  apple.  This 
appears  to  be  a  relic  of  the  ancient  Welsh  game  of 
quintain,  or  gwyntyn. 

V. 

November  the  Fifth,  the  anniversary  of  the  Gun- 
powder Plot,  is  much  observed  in  Wales.  '  God 
grant,'  said  Bishop  Sanderson  in  one  of  his  sermons, 
'  that  we  nor  ours  ever  live  to  see  November  the 
Fifth  forgotten,  or  the  solemnity  of  it  silenced.'  The 
words  are  similar  to  those  used  by  a  great  Ame- 
rican, of  the  early  days  of  the  Republic,  with  regard 
to  the  4th  of  July — God  grant  it  might  never  be 
forgotten.  But  the  rites  by  which  both  days  are 
celebrated  are  as  old  as  tradition,  and  much  older 
than  history.  As  the  Americans  have  given  a  his- 
torical significance  to  bonfires  and  fireworks,  so  the 
English  before  them  did  to  sacrificing  a  puppet  on 
Guy  Fawkes  Day ;  and  so  again  some  Catholic 
nations  have  made  the  rite  a  religious  one,  in  the 
hanging  of  Judas.  All  three  customs  are  traced  to 
the  same  original — the  ancient  Druidic  sacrifices 
to  the  sun-god  Beal  or  Moloch.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  the  Fifth  of  November  and  the  Fourth  of  July 
— or  rather  the  fiery  features  of  these  days — are 
alike  voted  a  nuisance  by  respectable  and  steady- 
going  people  in  the  countries  to  which  they  respec- 
tively belong. 

VI. 

On  St.  Clement's  Day  (the  23rd  of  November)  it 
was  customary  in  Pembrokeshire  in  the  last  century 
to  parade  an  effigy  of  a  carpenter,  which  had  been 
hung  to  the  church  steeple  the  night  before.  Cut- 
ting the  effigy  down  from  where  it  hung,  the  people 
carried  it  about  the  village,  repeating  loudly  some 
doggerel  verses  which  purported  to  be  the  last  will 


Quaint  Old  Customs.                      285  i 

and  testament  of  St.  Clement,  distributing  to  the  ' 

different  carpenters  in  town  the  several  articles  of  j 

dress  worn  by  the  effigy.      After  the  image  was  j 
thus  stripped  of  its  garments,  one  by  one,  the  padded 

remains  were  thrown  down  and  carefully  kicked  to  j 

pieces  by  the  crowd.  ! 


286  British  Goblins, 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Nadolig,  the  Welsh  Christmas —Bell-Ringing — Carols — Dancing  to 
the  Music  of  the  Waits— An  Evening  in  Carmarthenshire — Shenkin 
Harry,  the  Preacher,  and  the  Jig  Tune — Welsh  Morahty — Eistedd- 
fodau — Decorating  Houses  and  Churches — The  Christmas  Thrift- 
box— The  Colliers'  Star — The  Plygain — Pagan  Origin  of  Christmas 
Customs. 

I. 

We  come  now  to  the  most  interesting  holiday 
season  of  the  year,  by  reason  of  its  almost  univer- 
sality of  observance  among  Christian  peoples,  and 
the  variety  of  customs  peculiar  to  it.  In  the  land 
of  Arthur  and  Merlin  it  is  a  season  of  such  earnest 
and  wide-spread  cordiality,  such  warm  enthusiasm, 
such  hearty  congratulations  between  man  and  man, 
that  I  have  been  nowhere  equally  impressed  with 
the  geniality  and  joyousness  of  the  time.  In  some 
Catholic  countries  one  sees  more  merriment  on  the 
day  itself;  indeed,  the  day  itself  is  not  especially 
merry  in  Wales,  at  least  in  its  out-door  aspects.  It 
is  the  season  rather  than  the  day  which  is  merry  in 
Wales.  The  festival  is  usually  understood,  through- 
out Christendom,  to  include  twelve  days  ;  the  Welsh 
people  not  only  make  much  of  the  twelve  days,  but 
they  extend  the  peculiar  festivities  of  the  season  far 
beyond  those  limits.  Christmas  has  fairly  begun  in 
Wales  a  week  or  two  before  Christmas-day.  The 
waits  are  patrolling  the  streets  of  Cardiff  as  early  as 
December  5th,  and  Christmas  festivals  are  held  as 
early  as  December  19th,  at  which  Christmas-trees 
are  displayed,  and  their  boughs  denuded  of  the  toys 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  287 

and  lollipops  in  which  the  juvenile  heart  delights. 
After  Christmas-day  the  festival  continues  I  know 
not  just  how  long,  but  apparently  for  weeks. 

The  characteristic  diversions  of  the  Christmas 
season  are,  in  the  main,  alike  in  all  Christian  coun- 
tries. In  Wales  many  well-known  old  customs  are 
retained  which  in  some  other  parts  of  Great  Britain 
have  disappeared,  such  as  the  mummers,  the  waits, 
carols,  bell-ringings,  etc.  Not  only  do  the  bell- 
ringers  of  the  several  churches  throughout  the  prin- 
cipality do  their  handsomest  on  their  own  particular 
bells,  but  there  are  grand  gatherings,  at  special  points, 
of  all  the  bell-ringers  for  leagues  around,  who  vie 
with  each  other  in  showing  what  feats  they  can  per- 
form, how  they  can  astonish  you  with  their  majors, 
bob-majors,  and  triple  bob-majors,  on  the  brazen 
clangers  of  the  steeples.  At  Cowbridge,  for  instance, 
on  Christmas  will  come  together  the  ringers  from 
Aberdare,  Penarth,  St.  Pagan's,  Llantrisant,  Llan- 
blethian,  and  other  places,  thirty  or  forty  in  number, 
and  after  they  have  rung  till  the  air  above  the  town 
is  black  with  flying  clefs  and  quavers  from  the 
steeples,  they  will  all  sit  down  to  a  jolly  Christmas- 
dinner  at  the  Bear.  The  bands  of  waits,  or  '  pipers 
of  the  watch,'  who  wake  the  echoes  of  the  early 
morning  with  their  carols,  are  heard  in  every  Welsh 
town  and  village.  In  some  towns  there  are  several 
bands  and  much  good-natured  rivalry.  The  uni- 
versal love  of  music  among  the  Welsh  saves  the 
waits  from  degenerating  into  the  woe-begone  crea- 
tures they  are  in  some  parts,  where  the  custom  has 
that  poor  degree  of  life  which  can  be  kept  in  it  by 
shivering  clusters  of  bawling  beggars  who  cannot 
sing.  Regularly  organised  and  trained  choirs  of 
Welshmen  perambulate  the  Cambrian  country, 
chanting  carols  at  Christmas-tide,  and  bands  of  mu- 


288  Brtttsh  Modems. 


sicians  play  who,  in  many  cases,  would  not  discredit 
the  finest  military  orchestras.  Carols  are  sung  in 
both  Welsh  and  English  ;  and,  generally,  the  waits 
are  popular.  If  their  music  be  not  good,  they  are 
not  tolerated  ;  irate  gentlemen  attack  them  savagely 
and  drive  them  off.  Not  exactly  that  boot-jacks 
and  empty  bottles  are  thrown  at  them,  but  they  are 
excoriated  in  'letters  to  the  editor,'  in  which  strong 
language  is  hurled  at  them  as  intolerable  nuisances, 
ambulatory  disturbers  of  the  night's  quiet,  and  in- 
flicters  of  suffering  upon  the  innocent.  But  such 
cases  are  rare.  The  music  is  almost  invariably 
good,  and  the  effect  of  the  soft  strains  of  melo- 
diously-warbled Welsh  coming  dreamily  to  one's 
ears  through  the  darkness  and  distance  on  a  winter 
morning  is  sweet  and  soothing  to  most  ears.  Some- 
times small  boys  will  pipe  their  carols  through  the 
key-holes.  The  songs  vary  greatly  in  character,  but 
usually  the  religious  tone  prevails,  as  in  this  case : 

As  I  sat  on  a  sunny  bank,  a  sunny  bank,  a  sunny  bank, 

All  on  a  Christmas  morning, 
Three  ships  came  sailing  by,  sailing  by,  sailing  by. 
Who  do  you  think  was  in  the  ships  ? 
Who  do  you  think  was  in  the  ships  ? 
Christ  and  the  Virgin  Mary. 

Both  English  and  Welsh  words  are  sung.  Some- 
times a  group  of  young  men  and  women  will  be  seen 
dancing  about  the  waits  to  the  measure  of  their 
music,  in  the  hours  '  ayont  the  twal.'  In  one  aspect 
the  Welsh  people  may  be  spoken  of  as  a  people 
whose  lives  are  passed  in  the  indulgence  of  their 
love  for  music  and  dancing.  The  air  of  Wales  seems 
always  full  of  music.  In  the  Christmas  season  there 
is  an  unending  succession  of  concerts  and  of  miscel 
laneous  entertainments. of  which  music  forms  a  part,- 
while   you  cannot  enter  an  inn  where  a  few  are 


•I 


t 


Quaint  Old  Customs,  289 

gathered  together,  without  the  imminent  probability 
that  one  or  more  will  break  forth  in  song.  By  this 
is  not  meant  a  general  musical  howl,  such  as  is  apt 
to  be  evoked  from  a  room  full  of  men  of  any  nation- 
ality when  somewhat  under  the  influence  of  the  rosy 
god,  but  good  set  songs,  with  good  Welsh  or 
English  words  to  them,  executed  with  respect  for 
their  work  by  the  vocalists,  and  listened  to  with  a 
like  respect  by  the  rest  of  the  company.  When  an 
Englishman  is  drunk  he  is  belligerent ;  when  a 
Frenchman  is  drunk  he  is  amorous ;  when  an  Italian 
is  drunk  he  is  loquacious  ;  when  a  Scotchman  is 
drunk  he  is  argumentative ;  when  a  German  is 
drunk  he  is  sleepy ;  when  an  American  is  drunk  he 
brags  ;  and  when  a  Welshman  is  drunk  he  sings. 
Sometimes  he  dances  ;  but  he  does  not  do  himself 
credit  as  a  dancer  under  these  circumstances  ;  for 
when  I  speak  of  dancing  I  do  not  refer  to  those 
wooden  paces  and  inflections  which  pass  for  dancing 
in  society,  and  which  are  little  more  than  an  amiable 
pretext  for  bringing  in  contact  human  elements 
which  are  slow  to  mix  when  planted  in  chairs 
about  a  room  :  I  refer  to  the  individual  dancing  of 
men  who  do  not  dance  for  the  purpose  of  touching 
women's  hands,  or  indulging  in  small  talk,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  dancing ;  and  who  apply  themselves 
seriously  and  skilfully  to  their  work — to  wit,  the 
scientific  performance  of  a  jig. 

I  chanced  to  pass  one  evening,  in  the  Christmas- 
time, at  a  country  inn  in  a  little  Carmarthenshire 
village  remote  from  railways.  Certain  wanderings 
through  green  lanes  (and  the  lanes  were  still  green, 
although  it  was  cold,  mid-winter  weather)  had 
brought  me  to  the  place  at  dusk,  and,  being  weary, 
I  had  resolved  to  rest  there  for  the  night.  Some 
local  festivity  of  the  season  had  taken  place  during 


290  jJrulsh  ijohlins. 

the  day,  which  had  drawn  into  the  village  an  unusual 
number  of  farmer-folk  from  the  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood. After  a  simple  dinner  off  a  chop  and  a 
half-pint  of  cwrw  da,  I  strolled  into  what  they  called 
the  smoke-room,  by  way  of  distinguishing  it  from  the 
tap-room  adjoining.  It  was  a  plain  little  apartment, 
with  high-backed  wooden  settles  nearly  up  to  the 
ceiling,  which  gave  an  old-fashioned  air  of  comfort 
to  the  place.  Two  or  three  farmers  were  sitting 
there  drinking  their  beer  and  smoking  their  pipes, 
and  toastinor  their  trouserless  shins  before  the  blazinof 
fire.  Presently  a  Welsh  harper  with  his  harp  entered 
from  out-doors,  and,  seating  himself  in  a  corner  of 
the  room,  began  to  tune  his  instrument.  The  room 
quickly  filled  up  with  men  and  women,  and  though 
no  drinks  but  beer  and  '  pop '  were  indulged  in  (save 
that  some  of  the  women  drank  tea),  Bacchus  never 
saw  a  more  genial  company.  Some  one  sang  an 
English  song  with  words  like  these  : 

Thrice  welcome,  old  Christmas,  we  greet  thee  again, 

With  laughter  and  innocent  mirth  in  thy  train  ; 

Let  joy  fill  the  heart,  and  shine  on  the  brow, 

While  we  snatch  a  sweet  kiss  'neath  the  mistletoe-bough — 

The  mistletoe-bough, 

The  mistletoe-bough, 
We  will  snatch  a  sweet  kiss  'neath  the  mistletoe-bough. 

The  words  are  certainly  modern,  and  as  certainly 
not  of  a  high  order  of  literary  merit,  but  they  are  ex- 
tremely characteristic  of  life  at  this  season  in  Wales, 
where  kissing  under  the  mistletoe  is  a  custom  still 
honoured  by  observance.  There  was  dancing,  too, 
in  this  inn  company — performed  with  stern  and 
determined  purpose  to  excel,  by  individuals  who 
could  do  a  jig,  and  wished  to  do  it  well.  The 
harper  played  a  wild  lilting  tune ;  a  serious  indi- 
vidual who  looked  like  a  school-teacher  took  off  his 
hat,  bowed  to  the  company,  jumped  into  the  middle 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  291 


of  the  floor,  and  began  to  dance  like  a  madman.  It 
was  a  strange  sight.  With  a  face  whose  grave 
earnestness  relaxed  no  whit,  with  firmly  compressed 
lips  and  knitted  brow,  the  serious  person  shuffled 
and  double-shuffied,  and  swung  and  teetered,  and 
flailed  the  floor  with  his  rattling  soles,  till  the 
perspiration  poured  in  rivulets  down  his  solemn 
face.  The  company  was  greatly  moved ;  enthusi- 
astic ejaculations  in  Welsh  and  English  were  heard  ; 
shouts  of  approbation  and  encouragement  arose ; 
and  still  the  serious  person  danced  and  danced, 
ending  at  last  with  a  wonderful  pigeon-wing,  and 
taking  his  seat  exhausted,  amid  a  tremendous  roar 
of  applause. 

Scenes  like  this  are  common  throughout  Wales 
at  the  Christmas-time ;  and  they  contrast  strangely 
with  the  austerities  of  religious  observance  which 
are  everywhere  proceeding.  But  there  is  not  so 
wide  a  chasm  between  the  two  as  would  exist  in 
some  countries.  The  best  church-members  fre- 
quently do  not  deem  a  little  jollity  of  this  sort  a 
hanging  matter,  and  there  are  ministers  who  can  do 
a  double-shuffle  themselves  if  the  worst  comes  to  the 
worst.  A  worthy  pastor  in  Glamorganshire  related 
to  me,  with  a  suspicious  degree  of  relish,  a  story 
about  two  ministers  who  were  once  riding  through 
a  certain  village  of  Wales  on  horseback.  One  was 
the  Rev.  Evan  Harris,  the  other  a  celebrated  old 
preacher  named  Shenkin  Harry.  And,  as  they  rode 
on,  Harris  noticed  his  companion's  legs  twitching 
curiously  on  his  horse's  sides.  *  Why,  what  ails  your 
leg?'  he  asked.  'Don't  you  hear  the  harp,'  was 
the  reply,  *  in  the  public-house  yonder?  It  makes 
my  old  toes  crazy  for  a  jig.'  But  the  moral  tone  of 
Wales  is  certainly  better,  on  the  whole,  than  that  of 
most   countries — better    even   than   that   of   Great 


292  British  Goblins, 


Britain  generally,  I  should  say.  There  is,  I  know, 
a  prevailing  impression  quite  to  the  contrary  ;  but  it 
is  utterly  absurd.  It  is  an  impression  which  has 
grown,  I  imagine,  out  of  English  injustice  to  Welsh- 
men in  former  times,  allied  to  English  ignorance  in 
those  times  concerning  this  people.  Until  within 
the  last  hundred  years,  English  writers  habitually 
wrote  of  Wales  with  contempt  and  even  scurrility. 
But  no  one  can  live  in  Wales  and  not  form  the 
opinion  that  the  Welsh  are,  in  truth,  an  exception- 
ally moral  people  ;  and  the  nature  of  their  public 
entertainments  throughout  the  Christmas-time  en- 
forces this  conclusion.  Stendhal's  declaration  that, 
in  true  Biblical  countries,  religion  spoils  one  day  out 
of  seven,  destroys  the  seventh  part  of  possible 
happiness,  would  find  strong  illustration  in  Wales. 
It  is  not  my  purpose  to  argue  whether  the  illustra- 
tion would  prove  or  disprove  Stendhal's  assertion, 
though  one  might  fairly  ask  whether  religious  people 
are  not,  perhaps,  as  happy  in  going  to  church  on 
Sunday  as  irreligious  people  are  in  staying  away. 

II. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  there  is  any  lack  of 
amusement  on  Christmas-day  for  people  who  are 
willing  to  be  amused  in  a  God-fearing  manner. 
Although  you  cannot  go  to  the  theatre  or  the  circus, 
you  can  have  a  wide  liberty  of  choice  among 
oratorios,  concerts,  examinations,  exhibitions,  eistedd- 
fodau,  and  other  odd  diversions.  Concerts  especially 
thrive.  The  halls  in  which  they  are  held  are 
decorated  with  evergreens,  and  the  familiar  custom 
is  in  Wales  habitually  and  commonly  associated  with 
the  ancient  Druids,  who  viewed  the  green  twigs  as 
the  symbols  of  perennial  life.  Thus  a  peculiar 
poetic  grace  rests  with  a  custom  beautiful  in  itself, 


I 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  293 

and  capable  in  any  land  of  being  poetized  by  any 
one  poetically  inclined.  Many  of  those  unique 
gatherings  called  eisteddfodau  are  held  in  different 
parts  of  the  principality,  when  poetry,  music,  and 
essays,  in  Welsh  and  in  English,  are  put  forth  by 
the  strivers  in  these  Olympian  games  of  intellect  and 
culture,  after  the  prizes  which  in  Hellas  would  have 
given  them  crowns  of  olive-leaves  instead  of  gold- 
coins  of  the  realm.  When  Pindar  and  Sophocles 
handed  in  poems,  and  Herodotus  competed  among 
the  essayists,  and  Phidias  and  Praxiteles  among  the 
cutters  of  stone,  there  was  no  Christmas, — but  it  is 
claimed  there  were  eisteddfodau,  here  in  Wales  ;  ay, 
and  before  that ;  for  has  not  Herodotus  spoken  of 
the  British  bards  who  held  them  ? 

III. 

In  the  family  circle,  the  rules  which  regulate  the 
Sabbath  in  Wales — which  are  almost  as  repressive 
as  those  of  bonnie  Scotland,  where,  by  the  way, 
Christmas-day  is  scarcely  observed  at  all — are  relaxed, 
and  the  aspect  of  the  home  is  as  bright  as  can  be. 
The  rooms  are  elaborately  decorated  with  flowers 
and  evergreens,  holly  and  ivy,  ferns  and  rare  plants. 
In  Glamorganshire,  and  other  of  the  southern 
counties  looking  on  the  sea,  roses  and  hawthorn- 
sprays  may  be  sometimes  seen  in  full  bloom  out-of- 
doors  at  Christmas.  The  decoration  of  churches 
is  also  elaborate  beyond  anything  I  have  elsewhere 
seen.  It  is  a  sight  to  behold,  the  preparations  for 
and  the  work  of  decorating  a  vast  pile  of  ecclesiastical 
buildings  like  Llandaff  Cathedral — the  huge  quan- 
tities of  evergreens  and  holly,  flowers,  cedars,  etc., 
which  are  day  by  day  accumulated  by  the  ladies 
who  have  the  business  in  charge  ;  and  the  slow, 
continual  growth  of  forms  of  grace — arches,  crosses, 

u  2 


294  British  Goblins. 


wreaths,  festoons ;  green  coverings  to  font,  altar, 
pulpit,  choir-stalls,  pillars,  reredos,  and  rood-screen  ; 
panels  faced  with  scarlet  cloth  bearing  sacred 
devices  worked  in  evergreen  ;  the  very  window-sills 
glowing  with  banks  of  colour — until  all  the  wide 
spaces  in  chancel,  nave,  and  transepts,  are  adorned. 

IV. 

Of  common  prevalence  formerly,  and  still  ob- 
served in  numerous  parishes,  is  the  custom  called 
the  Plygain,  or  watching  for  the  dawn.  This  con- 
sists in  proceeding  to  the  church  at  three  o'clock  on 
Christmas  morning,  and  uniting  in  a  service  which 
is  held  by  the  light  of  small  green  candles  made  for 
the  purpose.  Sometimes  this  ceremony  is  observed 
at  home,  the  people  in  a  farmhouse  holding  a  jolli- 
fication on  the  Christmas  eve,  and  sitting  up  all 
night  to  greet  the  dawn.  If  the  east  wind  blew  on 
the  Christmas  eve  the  circumstance  was  deemed 
propitious  in  this  connection.  This  wind  was  called 
'  gwynt  traed  y  meirw,'  (the  wind  blowing  over  the 
feet  of  the  corpses,)  because  it  blew  towards  the 
foot  of  the  graves  in  the  churchyards.  It  was  also 
believed  that  the  dumb  animals  paid  their  tribute 
of  respect  to  this  night ;  the  bees  would  hum 
loudly  in  their  hives  at  midnight,  and  the  cattle 
in  the  cow-houses  would  bend  their  knees  as  in 
adoration.^ 

A  Christmas-eve  custom  among  Welsh  colliers 
is  to  carry  from  house  to  house  a  board  stuck  over 
with  lighted  candles,  or  to  wheel  a  handbarrow 
containing  a  bed  of  clay  in  which  the  candles  are 
stuck.  This  is  called  'the  Star,'  sometimes  'the 
Star  of  Bethlehem,'  and  when  stopping  before  a 
house  the  men  kneel  about  it  and  sing  a  carol.     A 

^  *  Cymru  Fu,'  403. 


1 

i 


Quaint  Old  Customs,  295 

like  custom  exists  in  Belgium,  among  children.    The 

purpose  is  to  solicit  a  Rhodd  Nadolig,  or  Christmas 

dft. 

^  V. 

The  British  Boxing-day  is  well  known,  both  as 
to  its  customs  and  its  origin.  The  Christmas-box, 
or  thrift-box,  is  still  to  be  seen  in  barber  shops  in 
Wales,  fastened  to  the  wall,  or  standing  conveniently 
under  the  looking-glass  among  the  pots  and  brushes. 
At  one  time  the  custom  became  such  a  nuisance 
throughout  Britain  that  an  outcry  was  raised  about 
it.  It  got  to  that  pass  that  the  butcher  and  baker 
would  send  their  apprentices  around  among  their 
customers  to  levy  contributions.  The  English 
Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  in  1837,  sent 
a  circular  to  the  different  embassies  requesting  their 
excellencies  and  charges  d'affaires  to  discontinue  the 
customary  Christmas-boxes  to  the  *  messengers  of 
the  Foreign  Department,  domestic  servants  of 
Viscount  Palmerston,  foreign  postmen,  etc'  The 
nuisance  is  hardly  less  prevalent  now.  The  faithful 
postman  in  Wales  not  only  expects  to  be  remem- 
bered at  Christmas,  but  he  expects  to  be  given  a 
precise  sum,  and  if  he  does  not  get  it  he  is  capable 
of  asking  for  it.  In  one  case,  a  postman  accustomed 
to  receive  five  shillings  at  a  certain  office,  on  asking 
for  his  '  box,'  was  told  the  usual  donor  was  absent 
in  London,  whereupon  he  requested  the  clerk  to 
write  up  to  him  in  London  immediately  on  the  sub- 
ject. These  things  strike  a  stranger  as  very  singular, 
among  a  people  usually  so  self-respecting.  Warnings 
are  from  time  to  time  issued  on  this  subject  by  those 
in  authority,  but  the  custom  is  likely  to  survive  so 
long  as  it  is  not  ranked  outright  with  beggary. 
Like  the  Christmas-tree,  it  is  a  graceful  thing 
among  the  children,  or  among  friends  or  household 


296  British  Goblins. 


I 


servants,    if  spontaneous ;  but   as   a   tax,   it  is   an 
odious  perversion/ 

VI. 

The  pagan  origin  of  most  of  our  Christmas  cus- 
toms is  undoubted.  Even  the  cheery  Christmas- 
tree  is  a  symbol  of  heathen  rites  in  times  long  ante- 
dating Christ.  The  early  Christian  fathers,  in 
adopting  the  popular  usages  of  their  predecessors, 
and  bending  them  to  the  service  of  Christianity, 
made  wondrous  little  change  in  them,  beyond  the 
substitution  of  new  motives  and  names  for  the  old 
festivals  peculiar  to  several  seasons  of  the  year. 
The  British  Druids'  feast  of  Alban  Arthur,  cele- 
brating the  new  birth  of  the  sun,  occurred  at  our 
Christmas  time,  and  is  still  celebrated  at  Ponty- 
pridd, Glamorganshire,  every  year.  It  begins  on  the 
22nd  of  December,  and  lasts  three  days,  during  which 
period  the  sun  is  supposed  to  fight  with  Avagddu, 
the  spirit  of  darkness,  the  great  luminary  having 
descended  into  hell  for  that  purpose.  On  the  third 
day  he  rose,  and  the  bards  struck  their  harps,  re- 
joicing that  the  sun  had  again  been  found.  The 
Pontypridd  ceremonies  are  similar  to  those  of  Mid- 
summer-day, already  mentioned.  The  Arch-Druid 
presides  in  the  folds  of  the  serpent  circle — when  he 
can  get  there,  that  is,  for  he  is  old,  past  eighty,  and 
the  Druidic  hill  is  apt  to  be  slippery  with  snow  and 
ice  at  this  time  of  the  year.  He  prays  to  the  pagan 
god,  and  perhaps  chants  a  poem  in  Welsh.^     The 

^  Among  those  who  last  Christmas  applied  at  my  house  for  *  his  box, 
sir,  if  you  please  '(as  my  maid  put  it),  quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  were 
the  postman,  the  leader  of  the  waits,  the  boy  who  brings  the  daily  news- 
papers, the  bookseller's  boy,  the  chimney-sweep,  the  dustman,  the 
grocer's  man,  etc.,  etc.,  no  one  of  whom  I  had  ever  set  eyes  on.  The 
equal  of  this  I  never  encountered,  except  in  Paris,  on  \}c\QJour  de  Van. 

^  I  give  a  free  translation  of  this  effort  as  delivered  on  Sunday, 
December  24th,  1876  (which  proved  a  mild  day),  and  which  I  find 
reported  in  the  '  Western  Mail '  of  the  26th  as  follows  :  '  The  day 


1 


Quaint  Old  Ctistoms.  297 

Druidic  fires  of  the  winter  solstice  feast  were  con- 
tinued in  customs  like  that  which  survived  in  Here- 
fordshire until  recent  years,  when  on  old  Christmas- 
eve  thirteen  fires  were  lighted  in  a  cornfield,  twelve 
of  them  being  in  a  circle  round  a  central  one  which 
burned  higher  than  the  rest.  The  circle  fires  were 
called  the  Twelve  Apostles,  and  the  central  one 
the  Virgin  Mary.  In  a  shed  near  by  was  a  cow 
with  a  plum-cake  between  or  upon  her  horns,  into 
whose  face  a  pail  of  cider  was  dashed,  with  a 
rhyming  address,  and  the  cow  tossing  her  horns 
from  her  unexpected  baptism  naturally  threw  the 
plum-cake  down.  If  it  fell  forward,  good  harvests 
were  predicted  ;  if  backward,  the  omen  was  evil. 
A  feast  among  the  peasants  followed.  In  the 
Plygain  in  like  manner  survives  the  Druidic  custom 
of  going  to  the  sacred  groves  before  dawn  on  this 
morning,  to  greet  the  rising  of  the  new-born  sun 
after  his  struggle  with  the  evil  principle. 

of  the  winter  solstice  has  dawned  upon  us  ;  httle  is  the  smile  and 
the  halo  of  Hea.  The  depth  of  winter  has  been  reached,  but  the  muse 
of  Wales  is  budding  still.  Cold  is  the  snow  on  the  mountains  ; 
naked  are  the  trees,  and  the  meadows  are  bare  ;  but  while  nature  is 
withering  the  muse  of  Wales  is  budding.  When  the  earth  is  decked 
in  mourning,  and  the  birds  are  silent,  the  muse  of  Wales,  with  its  harp, 
is  heard  in  the  gorsedd  of  the  holy  hill.  On  the  stone  ark,  within  the 
circle  of  the  caldron  of  Ceridwen,  are  throned  the  sons  of  Awen ; 
though  through  their  hair  the  frozen  mist  is  wafted,  their  bosoms  are 
sympathetic  and  they  rejoice.  Peace,  love,  and  truth,  encircle  our 
throne  ;  throne  without  a  beginning  and  without  ending,  adorned  with 
uchelwydd  (mistletoe),  symbol  of  perennial  life.  Tlie  throne  of  the 
British  Bard — which  remains  a  throne  while  other  thrones  decay  into 
dust  around  it  :  an  everlasting  throne  !  The  great  wheel  of  ages 
revolves  and  brings  around  our  festivities  ;  repeating  our  joys  it  does 
perpetually.  Muse,  awake  ;  awake,  ye  harps  ;  let  not  any  part  of  the 
year  be  forgotten  wherein  to  crown  usage  (defod),  morals  (moes),  and 
virtue.  The  Saviour  Hea  is  about  to  be  born  of  the  winter  solstice. 
He  will  rise  higher  still  and  higher  shiningly,  and  we  will  have  again  a 
new  year.  Haste  hail,  haste  falhng  snow,  hasten  rough  storms  of 
winter — hasten  away  that  we  may  see  the  happy  evidences  of  the  new 
year.' 


298 


British  Goblins. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Courtship  and  Marriage — Planting  Weeds  and  Rue  on  the  Graves 
Old  Bachelors — Special  Significance  of  Flowers  in  connection  with 
Virginity — The  Welsh  Venus— Bundling,  or  Courting  Abed — Kissing 
Schools — Rhamanta — Lovers'  Superstitions — The  Maid's  Trick — 
Dreaming  on  a  Mutton  Bone — Wheat  and  Shovel — Garters  in  a 
Lovers'  Knot — Egg-Shell  Cake — Sowing  Leeks— Twca  and  Sheath. 

L 

Welsh  courtship  is  a  thorough-going  business,  early- 
entered  upon  by  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  Princi- 
pality ;  and,  consequently  most  Welsh  women  marry 
young.  The  ancient  laws  of  Howell  the  Good  (died 
948)  expressly  provided  that  a  woman  should  be 
considered  marriageable  from  fourteen  upwards,  and 
should  be  entitled  to  maintenance  from  that  age 
until  the  end  of  her  fortieth  year ;  *  that  is  to  say, 
from  fourteen  to  forty  she  ought  to  be  considered  in 
her  youth.'  By  every  sort  of  moral  suasion  it  is 
deemed  right  in  Wales  to  encourage  matrimony, 
and  no  where  are  old  bachelors  viewed  with  less 
forbearance.  There  used  to  be  a  custom — I  know 
not  whether  it  be  extinct  now — of  expressing  the 
popular  disapprobation  for  celibacy  by  planting  on 
the  graves  of  old  bachelors  that  ill-scented  plant,  the 
rue,  and  sometimes  thistles,  nettles,  henbane,  and 
other  unlovely  weeds.  The  practice  was  even  ex- 
tended, most  illiberally  and  unjustly,  to  the  graves 
of  old  maids,  who  certainly  needed  no  such  insult 
added  to  their  injury.  Probably  the  custom  was 
never  very  general,  but  grew  out  of  similar — but 
other-meaning — customs  which  are  still   prevalent, 


t 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  299 

and  which  are  very  beautiful.  I  refer  to  the  plant- 
ing of  graves  with  significant  flowers  in  token  of  the 
virtues  of  the  dead.  Thus  where  the  red  rose  is 
planted  on  a  grave,  its  tenant  is  indicated  as  having 
been  in  life  a  person  of  peculiar  benevolence  of 
character.  The  flower  specially  planted  on  the 
grave  of  a  young  virgin  is  the  white  rose.  There 
is  also  an  old  custom,  at  the  funeral  of  a  young 
unmarried  person,  of  strewing  the  way  to  the  grave 
with  evergreens  and  sweet-scented  flowers,  and  the 
common  saying  in  connection  therewith  is  that  the 
dead  one  is  going  to  his  or  her  marriage-bed.  Sad  ex- 
tremely, and  touchingly  beautiful,  are  these  customs  ; 
but  wherever  such  exist,  there  are  sure  to  be  ill-con- 
ditioned persons  who  will  vent  spiteful  feelings  by 
similar  means.  Hence  the  occasional  affront  to  the  re- 
mains of  antiquated  single  folk,  who  had  been  perhaps 
of  a  temperament  which  rendered  them  unpopular. 

The  Welsh  being  generally  of  an  affectionate  dis- 
position, courtship,  as  I  have  said,  is  a  thorough- 
going business.  To  any  but  a  people  of  the  strongest 
moral  and  religious  tendencies,  some  of  their  customs 
would  prove  dangerous  in  the  extreme ;  but  no 
people  so  link  love  and  religion.  More  of  their 
courting  is  done  while  going  home  from  church  than 
at  any  other  time  whatever ;  and  the  Welsh  Venus 
is  a  holy  saint,  and  not  at  all  a  wicked  Pagan  cha- 
racter like  her  classic  prototype.  '  Holy  Dwynwen, 
goddess  of  love,  daughter  of  Brychan,'  had  a  church 
dedicated  to  her  in  Anglesea  in  590 ;  and  for  ages 
her  shrine  was  resorted  to  by  desponding  swains 
and  lovesick  maidens.  Her  name — Dwyn,  to  carry 
off,  and  wen,  white — signifies  the  bearer  off  of  the 
palm  of  fairness  ;  and,  ruling  the  court  of  love  while 
living,  when  dead 

A  thousand  bleeding  hearts  her  power  invoked. 


300  British  Goblins. 


Throughout  the  poetry  of  the  Cymric  bards  you 
constantly  see  the  severest  moral  precepts,  and  the 
purest  pictures  of  virtuous  fehcity,  mingHng  in  sin- 
gularly perfect  fusion  with  the  most  amorous  strains. 
Among  the  '  Choice  Things '  of  Geraint,  the  famous 
Blue  Bard,  were : 

A  song  of  ardent  love  for  the  lip  of  a  fair  maid  ; 
A  softly  sweet  glance  of  the  eye,  and  love  without  wantonness  ; 
A  secluded  walking-place  to  caress  one  that  is  fair  and  slender  ; 
To  reside  by  the  margin  of  a  brook  in  a  tranquil  dell  of  dry  soil ; 
A  house  small  and  warm,  fronting  the  bright  sunshine. 

With  these,  versifications  of  all  the  virtues  and 
moralities.  *  In  the  whole  range  of  Kymric  poetry,* 
says  the  learned  Thomas  Stephens,^  *  there  is  not,  I 
venture  to  assert,  a  line  of  impiety.' 

II. 

The  Welsh  custom  of  Bundling,  or  courting  abed, 
needs  no  description.     The  Welsh  words  sopen  and 

sypio  mean  a  bundle  and  to  bundle,  and  they  mean  % 
a  squeezed-up  mass,   and  to  squeeze  together  ;  but 
there  is  a  further  meaning,  equivalent  to  our  word 

baggage,  as  applied  to  a  strumpet.^     The  custom  of  ■: 

bundling  is  still  practised  in  certain  rural  neighbour-  | 

hoods  of  Wales.     To  discuss  its  moral  character  is  | 

not  my  province  in  these  pages  ;  but  I  may  properly  "% 

record  the  fact  that  its  practice  is  not  confined  to  the  | 

irreligious  classes.     It  is  also  pertinent  here  to  recall  \ 

the  circumstance  that  among  these  people  anciently,  1 

courtship  was  guarded  by  the  sternest  laws,  so  that  any  \ 

% 

^  Vide  '  Lit.  of  the  Kymry.' 

^  The  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas,  late  President  of  Pontypool  College,  whose 
acquaintance  with  Welsh  customs  is  very  extensive,  (and  to  whose       \ 
erudition  I  have  been  frequently  indebted  during  the  progress  of  these       \ 
pages  through  the  press,)  tells  me  he  never  heard  the  word  sopen  or       \ 
sypio,  synonymous  with  bundling,  used  for  the  old  custom,  but  only 
*  caru  yn  y  gwclu,'  (courting  abed.) 


Qtiaint  Old  Cttstoms.  301 

other  issue  to  courtship  than  marriage  was  practically 
impossible.  If  a  maiden  forgot  her  duty  to  herself, 
her  parents,  and  her  training,  when  the  evil  result 
became  known  she  was  to  be  thrown  over  a 
precipice ;  the  young  man  who  had  abused  the 
parents'  confidence  was  also  to  be  destroyed. 
Murder  itself  was  punished  less  severely.  Customs 
of  promiscuous  sleeping  arose  in  the  earliest  times, 
out  of  the  necessities  of  existence  in  those  primitive 
days,  when  a  whole  household  lay  down  together  on 
a  common  bed  of  rushes  strewn  on  the  floor  of  the 
room.  In  cold  weather  they  lay  close  together  for 
greater  warmth,  with  their  usual  clothing  on. 
Caesar's  misconception  that  the  ancient  Britons  were 
polyandrous  polygamists  evidently  had  here  its 
source. 

It  is  only  by  breathing  the  very  atmosphere  of  an 
existence  whose  primitive  influences  we  may  thus 
ourselves  feel,  that  we  can  get  a  just  conception  of 
the  underlying  forces  which  govern  a  custom  like 
this.  Of  course  it  is  sternly  condemned  by  every 
advanced  moralist,  even  In  the  neighbourhoods 
where  it  prevails.  An  instance  came  to  my  know- 
ledge but  a  short  time  ago,  (in  1877,)  where  the 
vicar  of  a  certain  parish  (Mydrim,  Carmarthenshire) 
exercised  himself  with  great  zeal  to  secure  its 
abolition.  Unfortunately,  in  this  instance,  the  good 
man  was  not  content  with  abolishing  bundling,  he 
wanted  to  abolish  more  innocent  forms  of  courting  ; 
and  worst  of  all,  he  turned  his  ethical  batteries 
chiefly  upon  the  lads  and  lasses  of  the  dissenting 
congregation.  Of  course,  it  was  not  the  vicar's 
fault  that  the  bundlers  were  among  the  meeting- 
house worshippers,  and  not  among  the  established 
church-goers,  but  nevertheless  it  injured  the  im- 
partiality of  his  championship  in  the  estimation  of 


302  British  Goblins, 

*  the  Methodys.'  I  am  not  sure  the  bundling  might 
not  have  ceased,  in  deference  to  his  opinions,  notwith- 
standing, if  he  had  not,  in  the  excess  of  his  zeal, 
complained  of  the  young  men  for  seeing  the  girls 
home  after  meeting,  and  casually  stretching  the 
walk  beyond  what  was  necessary.  Such  inter- 
meddling as  this  taxed  the  patience  of  the  courting 
community  to  its  extreme  limit,  and  it  assumed  a 
rebellious  front.  The  vicar,  quite  undaunted,  pur- 
sued the  war  with  vigour ;  he  smote  the  enemy  hip 
and  thigh.  He  returned  to  the  charge  with  the 
assertion  that  these  young  people  had  '  schools  for 
the  art  of  kissing,'  a  metaphorical  expression,  I  sup- 
pose ;  and  that  they  indulged  in  flirtation.  This  was 
really  too  much.  Bundling  might  or  might  not  be 
an  exclusively  dissenting  practice,  but  the  most  un- 
reasonable of  vicars  must  know  that  kissing  and 
flirtation  were  as  universal  as  the  parish  itself ;  and 
so  there  was  scoffing  and  flouting  of  the  vicar,  and, 
as  rebounds  are  proverbially  extreme,  I  fear  there 
is  now  more  bundling  in  Mydrim  than  ever. 

III. 

The  customs  of  Rhamanta,  or  romantic  divination, 
by  which  lovers  and  sweethearts  seek  to  pierce  the 
future,  are  many  and  curious,  in  all  parts  of  Wales. 
Besides  such  familiar  forms  of  this  widely  popular 
practice  as  sleeping  on  a  bit  of  wedding-cake,  etc., 
several  unique  examples  may  be  mentioned.  One 
known  as  the  Maid's  Trick  is  thus  performed  ;  and 
none  must  attempt  it  but  true  maids,  or  they  will 
get  themselves  into  trouble  with  the  fairies  :  On 
Christmas  eve,  or  on  one  of  the  Three  Spirit  Nights, 
after  the  old  folks  are  abed,  the  curious  maiden  puts 
a  good  stock  of  coal  on  the  fire,  lays  a  clean  cloth 
on  the  table,  and  spreads  thereon  such  store  of  eat- 


Qttaint  Old  Customs.  303 

ables  and  drinkables  as  her  larder  will  afford. 
Toasted  cheese  is  considered  an  appropriate  luxury 
for  this  occasion.  Having  prepared  the  feast,  the 
maiden  then  takes  off  all  her  clothing,  piece  by 
piece,  standing  before  the  fire  the  while,  and  her  last 
and  closest  garment  she  washes  in  a  pail  of  clear 
spring  water,  on  the  hearth,  and  spreads  it  to  dry 
across  a  chair-back  turned  to  the  fire.  She  then 
goes  off  to  bed,  and  listens  for  her  future  husband, 
whose  apparition  is  confidently  expected  to  come 
and  eat  the  supper.  In  case  she  hears  him,  she  is 
allowed  to  peep  into  the  room,  should  there  be  a 
convenient  crack  or  keyhole  for  that  purpose  ;  and 
it  is  said  there  be  unhappy  maids  who  have  believed 
themselves  doomed  to  marry  a  monster,  from 
having  seen  through  a  cranny  the  horrible  spectacle 
of  a  black-furred  creature  with  fiery  eyes,  its  tail 
lashing  its  sides,  its  whiskers  dripping  gravy, 
gorging  itself  with  the  supper.  But  if  her  lover 
come,  she  will  be  his  bride  that  same  year. 

In  Pembrokeshire  a  shoulder  of  mutton,  with 
nine  holes  bored  in  the  blade  bone,  is  put  under  the 
pillow  to  dream  on.  At  the  same  time  the  shoes  of 
the  experimenting  damsel  are  placed  at  the  foot  of 
the  bed  in  the  shape  of  a  letter  T,  and  an  incantation 
is  said  over  them,  in  which  it  is  trusted  by  the  damsel 
that  she  may  see  her  lover  in  his  every-day  clothes. 

In  Glamorganshire  a  form  of  rhamanta  still  exists 
which  is  common  in  many  lands.  A  shovel  being 
placed  against  the  fire,  on  it  a  boy  and  a  girl  put 
each  a  grain  of  wheat,  side  by  side.  Presently  these 
edge  towards  each  other ;  they  bob  and  curtsey, 
or  seem  to,  as  they  hop  about.  They  swell  and  grow 
hot,  and  finally  pop  off  the  shovel.  If  both  grains 
go  off  together,  it  is  a  sign  the  young  pair  will  jump 
together  into  matrimony  ;  but  if  they  take  different 


304  British  Goblins, 


directions,  or  go  off  at  different  times,  the  omen  Is 
unhappy.  In  Glamorganshire  also  this  Is  done  : 
A  man  gets  possession  of  a  girl's  garters,  and 
weaves  them  into  a  true  lover's  knot,  saying  over 
them  some  words  of  hope  and  love  in  Welsh.  This 
he  puts  under  his  shirt,  next  his  heart,  till  he  goes  to 
bed,  when  he  places  it  under  the  bolster.  If  the 
test  be  successful  the  vision  of  his  future  wife  appears 
to  him  in  the  night. 

IV. 

A  curious  rhamanta  among  farm-women  Is  thus 
described  by  a  learned  Welsh  writer  :  ^  The  maiden 
would  get  hold  of  a  pullet's  first  ^g<g,  cut  it  through 
the  middle,  fill  one  half-shell  with  wheaten  flour 
and  the  other  with  salt,  and  make  a  cake  out  of  the 
^gg,  the  flour,  and  the  salt.  One  half  of  this  she 
would  eat ;  the  other  half  was  put  in  the  foot  of  her 
left  stocking  under  her  pillow  that  night ;  and  after 
offering  up  a  suitable  prayer,  she  would  go  to  sleep. 
What  with  her  romantic  thoughts,  and  her  thirst 
after  eating  this  salty  cake.  It  was  not  perhaps  sur- 
prising that  the  future  husband  should  be  seen,  in  a 
vision  of  the  night,  to  come  to  the  bedside  bearing 
a  vessel  of  water  or  other  beverage  for  the  thirsty 
maid.  Another  custom  was  to  go  into  the  garden 
at  midnight,  In  the  season  when  '  black  seed '  was 
sown,  and  sow  leeks,  with  two  garden  rakes.  One 
rake  was  left  on  the  ground  while  the  young  woman 
worked  away  with  the  other,  humming  to  herself 
the  while, 

Y  sawl  sydd  i  gydfydio, 
Doed  i  gydgribinio  ! 


Or  In  English : 


He  that  would  a  life  partner  be, 
Let  him  also  rake  with  me. 


Cynddelw,  *  M anion  Hynafiaethol,'  53. 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  305 

There  was  a  certain  young  Welshwoman  who, 
about  eighty  years  ago,  performed  this  rhamanta, 
when  who  should  come  into  the  garden  but  her 
master !  The  lass  ran  to  the  house  in  great  fright, 
and  asked  her  mistress,  '  Why  have  you  sent 
master  out  into  the  garden  to  me?'  *  Wei,  wel,' 
replied  the  good  dame,  in  much  heaviness  of  heart, 
*  make  much  of  my  little  children  ! '  The  mistress 
died  shortly  after,  and  the  husband  eventually  mar- 
ried the  servant. 

The  sterner  sex  have  a  form  of  rhamanta  in 
which  the  knife  plays  a  part.  This  is  to  enter  the 
churchyard  at  midnight,  carrying  a  twca,  which  is  a 
sort  of  knife  made  out  of  an  old  razor,  with  a  handle 
of  sheep  or  goat-horn,  and  encircle  the  church  edifice 
seven  times,  holding  the  twca  at  arm's  length,  and 
saying,  '  Dyma'r  twca,  p'le  mae'r  waiii  ?'  (Here's 
the  twca — where's  the  sheath  ?) 


3o6  British  Goblins. 


I 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Wedding  Customs — The  Bidding — Forms  of  Cymmhorth — The 
Gwahoddwr — Horse-Weddings — SteaHng  a  Bride — Obstructions 
to  the  Bridal  Party — The  Gwyntyn  —Chaining — Evergreen  Arches 
— Strewing  Flowers — Throwing  Rice  and  Shoes — Rosemary  in 
the  Garden — Names  after  Marriage — The  Coolstrin — The  Ceffyl 
Pren. 

I. 

Wales  retains  several  ancient  customs  in  connec- 
tion with  weddings,  which  are  elsewhere  extinct. 
No  one  who  has  ever  paid  any  attention  to  Wales  and 
its  ways  can  have  failed  to  hear  of  that  most 
celebrated  rite  the  Bidding,  which  is,  however,  one 
of  several  picturesque  survivals  less  well  known  to  j 
the  outer  world.  The  Bidding  wedding  must  be  \ 
spoken  of  as  an  existing  custom,  although  it  be  con-  \ 
fined  to  rural  neighbourhoods  in  South  Wales,  and  to 
obscure  and  humble  folk.  Those  who  strive  to  prove 
that  all  such  customs  are  obsolete  everywhere— a 
thankless  and  even  ungraceful  task,  it  seems  to  me — 
will  not  admit  that  the  Bidding  has  been  known  since 
1870.  I  have  evidence,  however,  that  in  Pembroke, 
Cardigan,  and  Carmarthen  shires,  the  custom  did  not 
cease  on  the  date  named,  and  there  is  every  proba- 
bility that  it  prevails  to-day.  Nothing  could  be  of 
smaller  importance,  it  is  true,  than  the  precise  date 
on  which  a  given  custom  recently  ceased,  since  any 
one  may  revive  it  next  year  who  chooses  to  do  so. 
The  Bidding  is  an  invitation  sent  by  a  couple  who 
are  about  to  be  married,  soliciting  the  presence  and 
donations  of  the  neighbours  on  their  behalf.     The 


Quaint  Old  Cttstoms.  307 

presents  may  be  either  sums  of  money  or  necessaries. 
Gifts  of  bread,  butter,  cheese,  tea,  sugar,  and  the 
like,  are  common,  and  sometimes  articles  of  farming 
stock  and  household  furniture.  All  gifts  of  money 
are  recognized  by  a  sort  of  promissory  note,  i.e.,  by 
setting  down  the  name  and  residence  of  the  donor, 
with  the  amount  given  ;  and  when  a  like  occasion 
arises  on  the  part  of  the  giver,  the  debt  is  religiously 
paid.  The  obligation  is  an  absolute  one,  and  its 
legality  has  actually  been  recognized  by  the  Court 
of  Great  Sessions  at  Cardiff.  The  gift  is  even 
claimable  under  other  circumstances  than  the  donor  s 
getting  married.  Another  sort  of  contribution  Is 
the  eatables  and  drinkables  which  are  set  before  the 
guests  ;  these  are  only  repayable  when  required  on 
a  like  occasion. 

The  method  of  bidding  the  guests  was  until  lately 
through  a  personage  called  the  gwahoddwr  (Invlter 
or  bidder)  who  tramped  about  the  country  some  days 
beforehand,  proclaiming  the  particulars  to  everybody 
he  met.  He  usually  recited  a  doggerel  set  of 
rhymes  before  and  after  the  special  Invitation — a 
composition  of  his  own,  or  understood  to  be  such, 
for  rhyme-making  was  a  part  of  the  talent  of  a 
popular  bidder.  Frequently  no  little  humour  was 
displayed  in  the  bidding  song.  But  since  the  printing 
press  became  the  cheap  and  ready  servant  of  the 
humblest  classes,  the  occupation  of  the  bidder  has 
gradually  fallen  to  decay  ;  a  printed  circular  serves 
In  his  place.  At  the  shop  of  a  printer  in  Carmarthen 
I  procured  a  copy  of  the  following  bidding  circular, 
which  may  be  a  real  document,  or  a  fictitious  one : 

Carmarthenshire,  July  4TH,  1862. 

As  we  intend  to  enter  the  Matrimonial  State,  on  Wednesday,  the 
30th  of  July  instant,  we  purpose  to  make  a  Bidding  on  the  occasion, 
the  same  day,  at  the  Young  Man's  Father's  House,  called  Ty'r  Bwci, 

X 


3o8  British  Goblins. 


in  the  Parish  of  Llanfair  ar  y  Bryn,   when  and  where  the  favour  of  | 

your  good  and  agreeable  company  is  respectfully  soHcited,  and  what-  \ 

ever  donation  you  may  be  pleased  to  confer  on  us  then  will  be  thank-  ii 

fully  received,  warmly  acknowledged,  and  cheerfully  repaid  whenever  1 
called  for  on  a  similar  occasion. 

By  your  most  obedient  Servants,  j; 

Owen  Gwyn,  j 
Elen  Morgan. 

The  Young  Man,  his  Father  and  Mother  (Llewelyn  and  Margaret 
Gwyn,  of  Ty'r  Bwci),  his  Brother  (Evan  Gwyn,  Maes  y  Blodau),  his 
Sisters  (Gwladys  and  Hannah),  and  his  Aunt  (Mary  Bowen,  Llwyn  y 
Fedwen,  Llannon),  desire  that  all  gifts  of  the  above  nature  due  to  them 
be  returned  to  the  Young  Man  on  the  above  day,  and  will  be  thank- 
ful for  all  additional  favours  granted. 


The  Young  Woman,  her  Father  (Rhys  Morgan,  Castell  y  Moch) 
and  her  Brothers  and  Sister  (Howel,  Gruffydd,  and  Gwenllian 
Morgan),  desire  that  all  gifts  of  the  above  nature  due  to  them  be 
returned  to  the  Young  Woman  on  the  above  day,  and  will  be  thankful 
for  all  additional  favours  conferred  on  her. 

The  Young  Man's  company  will  meet  in  the  Morning  at  Ty'r  Bwci  ; 
and  the  Young  Woman's  at  Pant  y  Clacwydd,  near  the  Village  of 
Llansadwrn. 

The  Bidding  is  sometimes  held  on  the  day  of  the 
wedding,  and  sometimes  on  the  day  and  night  before 
it ;  the  custom  varies  in  different  districts,  as  all 
these  customs  do.  When  the  latter  is  the  case,  the 
night  is  an  occasion  of  great  merry-making,  with  much 
consumption  of  cwrw  da,  and  dancing  to  the  music 
of  the  harp,  for  poor  indeed  would  be  the  Welsh 
community  that  could  not  muster  up  a  harper.  This 
festival  is  called  Nos  Blaen,  or  preceding  night,  and 
is  a  further  source  of  income  to  the  couple,  from  the 
sale  of  cakes  and  cwrw.  *  Base  is  the  slave  who 
pays '  is  a  phrase  emphatically  reversed  at  a  Welsh 
wedding. 

The  Bidding  is  but  one  form  of  a  feature  of  Welsh 
life  which  extensively  prevails,  known  by  the  term 
Cymmhorth.  The  Bidding  is  a  Priodas  Cymmhorth ; 
the  Cyfarfod  Cymmhorth,  or  Assistance  Meeting,  is 
much  the  same  thing,  minus  the  wedding   feature. 


J 


Quaint  Old  Customs. 


309 


The  customs  of  the  latter  festival  are,  however,  often 
of    a   sort    distinctly   tending    toward    matrimonial 


THE   OLD-TIME    GWAHODDWR. 


results  as  an  eventuality.     A  number  of  farmer  girls 
of  the    humbler  sort  will   gather   at  a   stated  time 

X  2 


3IO  British  Goblins, 


and  place  to  give  a  day's  work  to  one  needing  as- 
sistance, and  after  a  day  spent  in  such  toil  as  may  be 
required,  the  festival  winds  up  with  jollity  in  the 
evening.  The  day  is  signalized  on  the  part  of  those 
youths  of  the  neighbourhood  who  are  interested  in 
the  girls,  by  tokens  of  that  interest  in  the  shape  of 
gifts.  The  lass  who  receives  a  gift  accompanied  by 
a  twig  of  birch  Is  thereby  assured  of  her  lover's 
constancy.  To  her  whom  the  young  man  would 
inform  of  his  change  of  heart,  a  sprig  of  hazel 
is  given.  An  earlier  feature  of  this  ceremony  was 
the  Merry  Andrew,  who  presented  the  gifts  in  the 
name  of  the  lover.  This  personage  was  disguised 
fantastically,  and  would  lead  the  young  woman  he 
selected  into  another  room,  where  he  would  deliver 
the  gift  and  whisper  the  giver's  name. 

The  antiquity  of  the  Bidding  as  a  local  custom  Is 
undoubted.  The  old-time  gwahoddwr  was  a  person 
of  much  Importance,  skilled  in  pedigrees  and  family 
traditions,  and  himself  of  good  family.  A  chieftain 
would  assume  the  character  in  behalf  of  his  vassal, 
and  hostile  clans  respected  his  person  as  he  went 
about  from  castle  to  castle,  from  hall  to  hall.  He 
bore  a  garlanded  staff  as  the  emblem  of  his  office, 
and  on  entering  a  dwelling  would  strike  his  staff 
upon  the  floor  to  command  the  attention  of  the  group 
before  hirA,  and  then  begin  his  address. 


II. 

The  Horse-Wedding  Is  of  more  ancient  origin 
than  the  Bidding,  and  Is  still  a  living  custom  in  some 
parts  of  Wales,  especially  Carmarthenshire  and 
western  Glamorganshire.  It  was  In  other  days 
common  throughout  South  Wales,  and  was  scolded 
about  by  old  Malkin  (generally  very  cordial  in  his 
praise  of  Welsh  customs)  in  these  spicy  terms  :     '  111 


I 

i 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  3 1 1 

may  it  befal  the  traveller,  who  has  the  misfortune  of 
meeting  a  Welsh  wedding  on  the  road.  He  would 
be  inclined  to  suppose  that  he  had  fallen  in  with  a 
company  of  lunatics,  escaped  from  their  confinement. 
It  is  the  custom  of  the  whole  party  who  are  invited, 
both  men  and  women,  to  ride  full  speed  to  the 
church  porch,  and  the  person  who  arrives  there  first 
has  some  privilege  or  distinction  at  the  marriage 
feast.  To  this  important  object  all  inferior  consider- 
ations give  way ;  whether  the  safety  of  his  majesty's 
subjects,  who  are  not  going  to  be  married,  or  their 
own,  incessantly  endangered  by  boisterous,  unskilful 
and  contentious  jockeyship.'  ^  Glamorganshire  is 
here  spoken  of.  The  custom  varies  somewhat  in 
different  localities,  but  it  preserves  the  main  feature, 
to  force  the  bride  away  from  her  friends,  who  then 
gallop  after  her  to  church,  arriving  toujour s  trop  tard, 
of  course,  like  the  carabineers  in  '  Les  Brigands.' 

There  have  been  cases,  however,  when  the  bride 
was  caught  by  a  member  of  the  pursuing  party,  and 
borne  away — an  incident  which  occurred  in  the 
knowledge  of  an  acquaintance,  who  related  it  to  me. 
As  may  readily  be  inferred,  the  bride  in  this  case 
was  not  unwilling  to  be  caught ;  in  fact  she  was 
averse  to  marrying  the  man  who  was  taking  her  to 
church,  and  who  was  her  parent's  choice,  not  her  own. 
The  lover  who  had  her  heart  caught  up  with  her  by 
dint  of  good  hard  riding,  and  whisked  her  on  his 
horse  within  sight  of  the  church-door,  to  the  intense 
astonishment  of  the  bridegroom,  who  gazed  at  them 
open-mouthed  as  they  galloped  away.  He  thought 
at  first  it  was  a  joke,  but  as  the  lovers  disappeared 
in  the  distance  the  truth  dawned  upon  him  :  a  Welsh 
custom  had  served  something  like  its  original  pur- 
pose. 

1  Malkin's  '  South  Wales,'  67. 


312  British  Goblins. 


But  usually,  the  whole  performance  is  a  vehicle  for 
fun  of  the  most  good-natured  and  innocent  sort.  It 
begins  by  the  arrival  of  the  neighbours  on  horseback 
at  the  residence  of  the  expectant  bridegroom.  An 
eye-witness  to  a  certain  wedding  gathering  in  Gla- 
morganshire a  few  years  ago  states  that  the  horsemen 
exceeded  one  hundred  in  number.  From  among 
them  a  deputation  was  chosen  to  go  (still  on  horse- 
back) to  the  bride's  residence  to  make  formal  demand 
for  her.  Her  door  was  barred  inside,  and  the 
demand  was  made  in  rhyme,  and  replied  to  in  the 
same  form  from  within.  It  often  happens  that  a 
brisk  contest  of  wits  signalizes  this  proceeding,  for  if 
the  voice  of  any  one  within  is  recognized  by  one  of 
those  outside,  his  personal  peculiarities  are  made  the 
subject  of  satirical  verses.  A  voice  inside  being 
recognized  as  that  of  a  man  who  was  charged  with 
sheep-stealing,  this  rhyme  was  promptly  shouted  at 
him  : 

Gwrando,  leidr  hoyw'r  ddafad, 
Ai  ti  sydd  yma  heddy w'n  geidwad  ? 
Ai  dyna  y  rheswm  cloi  y  drysau, 
Rhag  dwyn  y  wreigan  liw  dydd  goleu  ? 

(Ah,   sheep-stealer,  art  thou  a  guardian  of  the  fair  one  ?     If  the 
doors  were  not  locked  thou  wouldst  steal  the  bride  in  broad  daylight.) 

The  doors  are  opened  in  the  end,  of  course,  and  after 
refreshments  the  wedding  party  gallops  off  to  church. 
The  bride  is  stolen  away  and  borne  off  to  a  distance 
on  her  captor  s  horse,  but  only  in  sport  ;  her  captor 
brings  her  back  to  the  church,  where  she  is  quietly 
married  to  the  proper  person.  Sometimes  the  pre- 
caution is  taken  of  celebrating  the  marriage  privately 
at  an  early  hour,  and  the  racing  takes  place  after- 
ward. 

Obstructions  are  raised  by  the  bride's  friends, 
to  prevent  the  bridegroom's  party  from  coming  to 
her  house,  and  these  difficulties  must  be  overcome 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  313 

ere  the  bride  can  be  approached.  Sometimes  a  mock 
battle  on  the  road  is  a  feature  of  the  racing  to  church. 
The  obstructions  placed  in  the  road  in  jformer  days 
included  the  Gwyntyn,  a  sort  of  game  of  skill  which 
seems  to  have  been  used  by  most  nations  in  Europe, 
called  in  English  the  quintain.  It  was  an  upright 
post,  upon  which  a  cross-piece  turned  freely,  at  one 
end  of  which  hung  a  sand-bag,  the  other  end  pre- 
senting a  flat  side.  At  this  the  rider  tilted  with  his 
lance,  his  aim  being  to  pass  without  being  hit  in  the 
rear  by  the  sand-bag.  Other  obstructions  in  use  are 
ropes  of  straw  and  the  like. 

There  is  a  Welsh  custom  called  Chaining,  which 
probably  arose  out  of  the  horse-wedding,  and  still 
prevails.  In  the  village  of  Sketty,  Glamorganshire, 
in  August,  1877,  I  saw  a  chaining,  on  the  occasion  of 
a  marriage  between  an  old  lady  of  eighty  and  a  man 
of  fifty.  The  affair  had  made  so  much  talk,  owing  to 
the  age  of  the  bride,  that  the  whole  village  was  in 
the  streets.  While  the  wedding  ceremony  was  in 
progress,  a  chain  was  stretched  across  the  street, 
forming  a  barrier  which  the  wedding  party  could  not 
pass  till  the  chainers  were  '  tipped.'  The  driver  of  the 
carriage  containing  the  newly  wedded  pair  was  an 
Englishman,  and  ignorant  of  the  custom,  at  which  he 
was  naturally  indignant.  His  angry  efforts  to  drive 
through  the  barrier  made  great  sport  for  the 
Welshmen. 

The  origin  of  the  Welsh  horse-wedding  may  be 
traced  to  the  Romans,  if  no  further  back,  and  may 
thus  be  connected  with  the  rape  of  the  Sabines. 
That  the  Romans  had  an  exactly  similar  custom  is 
attested  by  Apuleius,  and  it  is  said  to  have  been 
established  by  Romulus  in  memory  of  the  Sabine 
virgins.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  Romans  may 
have  left  the  custom  behind  them  when  they  quitted 


314  British  Goblins, 

this  territory  in  the  fifth  century,  after  nearly  three 
hundred  years'  rule. 

IV. 

Among  the  wealthier  classes  of  Wales,  certain 
joyous  and  genial  wedding  customs  prevail,  such  as 
are  common  in  most  parts  of  the  British  isles,  but 
which  do  not  reappear  in  the  new  world  across  the 
Atlantic, — a  fact  by  which  American  life  is  a  heavy 
loser,  in  my  opinion.  When  the  Rector  of  Merthyr's 
daughter  (to  use  the  form  of  speech  common)  was 
married,  a  few  months  since,  the  tenants  of  the  estate 
erected  arches  of  evergreens  over  the  roads,  and 
adorned  their  houses  with  garlands,  and  for  two  or 
three  days  the  estate  was  a  scene  of  festivity,  ending 
with  the  distribution  of  meat  to  the  poor  of  the 
parish.  Such  festivities  and  such  decorations  are  com- 
mon on  the  estates  of  the  country  gentry  not  only, 
but  in  the  towns  as  well.  At  Tenby,  when  the  High 
Sheriffs  son  was  married  to  the  Rector  of  Tenby's 
daughter,  in  1877,  garlands  of  flowers  were  hung 
across  the  High  Street,  bearing  pleasant  mottoes, 
while  flags  and  banners  fluttered  from  house-tops  in 
all  directions.  Children  strewed  flowers  in  the  bride's 
path  as  she  came  out  of  church,  while  the  bells  in 
the  steeple  chimed  a  merry  peal,  and  a  park  of 
miniature  artillery  boomed  from  the  pier-head.  This 
custom  of  children  strewing  flowers  in  the  path  of 
the  new-made  bride  is  common  ;  so  also  is  that  of 
throwing  showers  of  rice  after  the  wedded  pair,  by 
way  of  expressing  good  wishes — a  pleasanter  thing 
to  be  thrown  under  these  circumstances  than  the  old 
shoes  of  tradition.  However,  since  fashion  has 
taken  up  the  custom  of  rice-throwing  and  shoe- 
throwing,  the  shoes  have  become  satin  slippers. 

As  far  back  as  the    i6th  century,   throwing  an 
old  shoe  after  any  one  going  on  an  important  errand 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  315 

was  deemed  lucky  in  Wales.  It  is  thought  that  in 
the  case  of  a  bride,  the  custom  is  derived  from  the 
old  Jewish  law  of  exchange,  when  a  shoe  was  given 
in  token  that  the  parents  for  ever  surrendered  all 
dominion  over  their  daughter.  But  a  precisely 
similar  custom  prevails  in  China,  where  it  is  usual 
for  the  bride  to  present  her  husband  with  a  pair  of 
shoes,  by  way  of  signifying  that  for  the  future  she 
places  herself  under  his  control.  '  These  are  carefully 
preserved  in  the  family  and  are  never  given  away, 
like  other  worn-out  articles,  it  being  deemed,  that  to 
part  with  them  portends  an  early  separation  between 
husband  and  wife. '^  The  custom  of  rice-throwing  is 
also  Chinese,  the  rice  being  viewed  as  a  sign  of 
abundance.  In  Sicily,  as  in  some  parts  of  England, 
wheat  is  thrown  on  the  bride's  head ;  in  Russia,  a 
handful  of  hops  ;  in  the  north  of  England  a  plateful 
of  shortcake  ;^  in  Yorkshire,  bits  of  the  bride-cake. 
All  these  customs,  while  popularly  done  '  for  luck,' 
are  apparently  symbolical  of  the  obedience  and  the 
fruitfulness  of  the  newly-wedded  wife.  And  as  in 
Scandinavia  the  bride  tries  to  get  her  husband  to 
pick  up  her  handkerchief  as  an  omen  of  his  obeying 
instead  of  compelling  obedience,  so  in  China  the 
bride  tries  to  sit  on  a  part  of  her  husband's  dress. 
The  vulgar  story  and  adage,  '  Bandbox  now,  band- 
box always,'  expresses  the  superstition  succinctly. 

There  is  a  saying  current  on  the  Welsh  border, 
that  when  rosemary  flourishes  in  the  garden  of  a 
married  pair,  the  lady  'rules  the  roast,'  as  the 
phrase  is — though  if  there  is  anything  a  woman 
should  rule,  one  would  think  the  '  roast '  is  that 
thing.  '  That  be  rosemary,  sir,'  said  an  old  gardener 
in  Herefordshire,  pointing  to  where  the  plant  grew; 

^  Dennys,  '  Folk-Lore  of  China,'  i8. 
^  Henderson,  '  Notes  on  Folk- Lore,'  22. 


3i6  British  Goblins. 


*  they  say  It  grows  but  where  the  missus  is  master, 
and  it  do  grow  here  Hke  wildfire.'  The  idea  of 
feminine  obedience  to  masculine  will,  merely  because 
it  is  masculine,  is  in  itself  looked  upon  as  a  super- 
stition by  all  cultivated  people  in  these  days,  I 
suppose.  Sex  aside,  if  the  truth  were  known,  it 
would  be  found  that  the  stronger  is  the  ruler,  in  all 
lands,  under  all  customs,  be  the  outward  show  of 
the  ruling  more  or  less ;  and  it  is  not  always  where 
the  public  sees  it  most  clearly,  or  fancies  it  does, 
that  the  rule  of  the  dame  is  sternest.  The  strength 
here  employed  is  not  virile  strength  ;  there  is  nothing 
necessarily  masculine  about  it.  The  severest 
mistress  of  her  lord  I  ever  knew  was  a  feeble  little 
woman  with  hands  like  a  baby's,  and  a  face  of  wax, 
with  no  more  will-power  apparently  than  a  week- 
old  kitten,  but  whose  lightest  whim  lay  on  her  lord 
like  iron,  and  was  obeyed  as  faithfully  as  if  it  were 
backed  by  a  cat-o'-nine-tails  and  a  six-shooter. 

To  return  for  a  moment  to  our  Welsh  wedding 
customs  among  the  wealthier  classes.  When  the 
couple  return  from  their  bridal  tour,  the  fun  often 
begins  all  over  again.  Thus  at  Lampeter,  on  the 
edge  of  Cardiganshire,  last  September,  when  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Jones  of  Glandennis  (Jones  of  Glandennis, 
Roberts  of  the  Dingle,  Williams  of  Pwlldu, — such 
cognomens  take  the  place  in  Wales  of  the  distinctive 
names  which  separate  Englishmen  one  from  another, 
and  from  Jones  of  Nevada), —  when  Jones  of 
Glandennis  brought  home  his  bride,  the  whole 
neighbourhood  was  agog  to  greet  them.  Thousands 
of  people  gathered  in  a  field  near  the  station, 
and  passed  their  time  in  athletic  sports  till  the  train 
arrived,  when  they  woke  the  echoes  with  their  cheers. 
The  Joneses  entered  their  carriage,  the  horses  were 
unharnessed,    and   a   long   procession    of   tenantry, 


ri 


Quaint  Old  Ctistoms.  317 

headed  by  a  brass  band,  dragged  the  carriage  all  the 
way  to  Glandennis,  two  miles  off,  some  bearing 
torches  by  the  side  of  the  carriage.  Arches  of 
evergreens  were  everywhere  ;  and  when  they  got  to 
the  house,  nothing  would  do  but  Mrs.  Jones  must 
appear  at  a  window  and  make  a  little  speech  of 
thanks  to  the  crowd ;  which  she  did  accordingly — 
a  thing  in  itself  shocking  to  superstitious  ideas 
of  chivalry,  but  in  strictest  accord  with  the  true 
chivalric  spirit  toward  woman.  Then  fireworks 
blazed  up  the  sky,  and  bonfires  were  lighted  on 
the  tops  of  all  the  adjoining  hills.  Lampeter  town 
was  illuminated,  and  nobody  went  to  bed  till  the 
small  hours. 

After  marriage,  Welshwomen  still  in  some  cases 
retain  their  maiden  names,  a  custom  formerly 
universal  among  them.  The  wife  of  John  Thomas, 
though  the  mother  of  a  houseful  of  children,  may  be 
habitually  known  among  her  neighbours  as  Betty 
Williams.  In  other  cases,  she  not  only  assumes  her 
husband's  name,  but  the  name  of  his  calling  as  well  ; 
if  he  is  Dick  Shon  the  tailor,  she  is  simply  Mrs.  Dick 
Shon  the  tailor. 

V. 

A  custom  called  the  Coolstrin  is  now  apparently 
obsolete,  unless  in  occasional  rural  communities 
remote  from  railroads.  It  resembles  the  old  custom 
once  known  in  certain  parts  of  England,  called  the 
skimitry  or  skimmington,  in  which  a  man  whose 
wife  had  struck  him  was  forced  to  ride  behind  a 
woman,  with  his  face  to  the  horse's  tail,  while  a  band 
of  pans  and  cow-horns  made  music  for  them.  The 
Welsh  custom  is,  however,  more  elaborate,  and  more 
comical,  while  it  is  less  severe  on  the  man.  A 
husband  who  is  suspected  of  having  a  termagant 
wife,  is  made  the  subject  of  espionage.     If  it  be  found 


3i8  British  Goblins. 


I 


that  he  drinks  his  mug  of  ale  standing,  with  his  eye 
twinkhng  toward  the  door,  the  circumstance  is  con- 
sidered most  suspicious.  Efforts  are  accordingly 
made  to  induce  the  henpecked  man  to  stay  and  be 
merry,  and  if  he  can  be  made  drunk  a  great  point  is 
gained,  as  then  a  squad  of  volunteers  take  him 
inside  his  own  door  and  critically  observe  his  recep- 
tion. A  moral  point  involved  appears  to  be  that  a 
henpecked  husband  is  a  disgrace  to  manhood  in 
general ;  and  the  purpose  of  the  coolstrin  is  to  reform 
it  altogether.  However,  although  it  may  even  be 
proved  that  a  woman  is  in  the  habit  of  cuffing  her 
husband,  the  case  does  not  come  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  coolstrin  court  until  she  has  *  drawn 
blood  on  him/  Then  the  court  is  convened.  It 
is  composed,  no  doubt,  of  any  rakehelly  youngsters, 
married  or  single,  who  are  ripe  for  sport.  One  of 
them  is  chosen  for  judge  ;  a  special  point  is  that  he 
must  be  a  married  man  who  is  not  afraid  of  his  wife  ; 
and  he  is  invested  with  robe  and  gown,  that  is  to 
say,  the  collar-bone  of  a  horse  is  set  on  his  head, 
around  the  crown  of  a  slouch  hat,  and  a  bed-quilt  is 
made  fast  to  his  shoulders.  He  marches  through 
the  streets,  with  a  youth  behind  him  bearing  his 
bed-quilt  train,  and  mounts  a  chosen  wall  for  a  judge's 
bench.  Officers  with  long  white  wands  range 
themselves  solemnly  on  either  side  of  him  ;  men  are 
chosen  as  advocates ;  and  a  posse  of  rustics  with 
pitchforks  keeps  order.  The  court  is  opened  by  a 
crier  who  calls  on  all  good  men  who  as  yet  wear 
their  own  clos,^  to  attend  the  court.  The  case  is 
argued  by  the  advocates  ;  witnesses  are  examined 
to  prove,  first,  that  the  man  is  henpecked,  second, 
that  his  wife  has  struck  him  and  drawn  blood  with 
the  blow.      In  one  case  it  was  proved  that  the  wife 

*  Breeches. 


Quaini  Old  Customs.  319 

had  knocked  her  beery  lord  down,  and  that  his  nose, 
striking  a  stool,  had  bled.  The  wife's  advocate 
nearly  gravelled  the  judge,  by  holding  that  blood 
drawn  by  a  stool  could  not  be  said  to  have  been 
drawn  by  the  woman.  The  judge  got  over  this  by 
deciding  that  if  the  woman  had  taken  the  stool  by 
one  of  its  three  legs,  and  hit  the  man,  drawing  blood, 
the  blood  would  be  clearly  chargeable  to  her.  '  And 
where  is  the  difference,'  asked  he,  triumphantly, 
'  between  knocking  the  stool  against  him,  and 
knocking  him  against  the  stool  ? '  The  woman  was 
found  guilty.  '  For,'  said  the  prosecuting  attorney 
indignantly,  '  if  a  man  shan't  drink  a  blue  of  beer 
with  a  neighbour  or  so,  to  what  won't  it  come  ? ' 
Her  condemnation  followed  ;  to  be  ridden  on  the 
Ceffyl  Pren.  A  derisive  procession  was  formed,  and 
two  fellows  were  rigged  up  to  personate  the  husband 
and  wife.  The  male  bore  a  broom,  and  the  female 
brandished  a  ladle,  and  the  two  were  paraded 
through  the  town.  A  band  of  '  musicians '  marched 
before  them,  beating  frying-pans  with  marrow  bones, 
banging  gridirons  and  kettles  with  pokers,  tongs 
and  shovels,  and  two  playing  on  a  fife  and  drum. 
These  were  followed  by  two  standard  bearers,  one 
bearing  a  petticoat  on  top  of  a  pole,  the  other  a 
pair  of  breeches  in  the  same  manner.  Other  orts  and 
ends  of  rabble  made  up  the  procession,  which  with 
antic  and  grimace  marched  about  the  village  and 
neighbourhood.  The  orgie  ended  by  the  planting 
in  front  of  the  culprit's  house  of  the  pole  and 
petticoat,  and  the  pelting  of  it  with  addled  eggs, 
stones,  and  mud,  till  it  fell  to  the  ground.  The 
noble  bifurcated  emblem  of  manhood,  the  clos,  was 
then  elevated  proudly  aloft,  and  the  woman's 
punishment  was  deemed  complete. 

This  is  the  story  of  a  rural  village  in  Glamorgan- 


m 


320 


British  Goblins. 


shire.  The  custom  was  known  in  other  counties, 
and  varied  in  its  details.  In  Breconshire,  the 
virago  was  punished  through  the  ceffyl  pren  merely 
by  the  moral  influence  of  parading  it  before  her 
cottage.  Quarrelsome  wives  were  said  to  stand  in 
great  and  constant  dread  of  its  possible  appearance 
before  their  doors.  In  Cardiganshire,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  custom  termed  the  coolstrin  is  vice  versa, 
and  it  is  only  husbands  who  ill-use  their  wives  who 
are  amenable  to  its  discipline. 


(•      321      ) 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Death  and  Burial— The  Gwylnos— Beer-drinking  at  Welsh  Funerals — 
Food  and  Drink  over  the  Coffin — Sponge  Cakes  at  Modern 
Funerals — The  Sin-eater— Welsh  Denial  that  this  Custom  ever 
existed — The  Testimony  concerning  it — Superstitions  regarding 
Salt— Plate  of  Salt  on  Corpse's  Breast— The  Scapegoat— The 
St.  Tegla  Cock  and  Hen — Welsh  Funeral  Processions — Praying 
at  Cross-roads — Superstition  regarding  Criminals'  Graves— Hang- 
ing and  Welsh  Prejudice — The  Grassless  Grave — Parson's  Penny, 
or  Offrwm— Old  Shoes  to  the  Clerk— Arian  y  Rhaw,  or  Spade 
Money— Burials  without  Coffin— The  Sul  Coffa— Planting  and 
Strewing  Graves  with  Flowers. 

I. 

With  the  growth  of  modern  refinement  the  people 
of  every  land  have  become  constantly  more  decorous 
in  their  grief.  The  effort  of  the  primitive  and 
untutored  mind  to  utter  its  sorrow  in  loud  and  wild 
lamentations,  and  of  friends  and  neighbours  to  divert 
the  mind  of  the  sufferer  from  his  bereavement,  gave 
rise  to  many  funeral  customs  of  which  we  still  find 
traces  in  Wales.  Pennant,  while  travelling  in  North 
Wales,  noted,  with  regard  to  one  Thomas  Myddleton, 
a  fact  which  he  held  '  to  prove  that  the  custom  of  the 
Irish  howl,  or  Scotch  Coranich,  was  in  use  among 
us  (the  Welsh)  ;  for  we  are  told  he  was  buried  "cum 
magno  dolore  et  clamore  cognatorum  et  propin- 
quorum  omnium.'"  No  such  custom  now  exists  ;  but 
there  is  a  very  impressive  rite,  of  a  corresponding 
character,  but  religious,  called  the  Gwylnos.  It  is  a 
meeting  held  in  the  room  where  the  corpse  is  lying, 
on  the  night  before  the  funeral.  The  Irish  cry, 
'  Why  did  ye  die  ? '  is  replaced  by  pious  appeals  to 


322  British  Goblins, 


Heaven,  in  which  great  and  strong  emotion  is  ex- 
pressed, the  deceased  referred  to  in  stirring  sentences, 
and  his  death  made  a  theme  for  warnings  on  the 
brevity  of  earth-Hfe  and  the  importance  of  the  future 
life  of  the  soul. 

On  the  day  of  the  funeral,  however,  the  customs 
are  not  always  in  keeping  with  modern  notions  of 
the  praiseworthy.  Indulgence  in  beer-drinking  at 
funerals  is  still  a  Welsh  practice,  and  its  antiquity  is 
indicated  by  a  proverb  :  '  Claddu  y  marw,  ac  at  y 
cwrw' — (To  bury  the  dead,  and  to  the  beer.)  ^  The 
collection  of  Welsh  writings  called  '  Cymru  Fu ' 
refers  to  the  custom  thus,  (to  translate  :)  '  Before  the 
funeral  procession  started  for  the  church,  the  nearest 
friends  and  relatives  would  congregate  around  the 
corpse  to  wail  and  weep  their  loss ;  while  the  rest  of 
the  company  would  be  in  an  adjoining  room  drinking 
warm  beer  (cwrw  brwd)  and  smoking  their  pipes  ; 
and  the  women  in  still  another  room  drinking  tea 
together.'  ^  The  writer  here  speaks  of  the  custom  in 
the  past  tense,  but  apparently  rather  as  a  literary 
fashion  than  to  indicate  a  fact ;  at  any  rate,  the  cus- 
tom is  not  extinct.  Occasionally  it  leads  to  appear- 
ances in  the  police-court  on  the  part  of  injudicious 
mourners.^  After  taking  the  coffin  out  of  the  house 
and  placing  it  on  a  bier  near  the  door,  it  was  formerly 
customary  for  one  of  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  to 
distribute  bread  and  cheese  to  the  poor,  taking  care 
to  hand  it  to  each  one  over  the  coffin.     These  poor 

*  So  the  Spanish  say,  *  The  dead  to  the  bier,  the  hving  to  good 
cheer.*  ^  '  Cymru  Fu,'  91. 

^  'Two  Llancaiach  men  named  Servis  and  Humphrey  were  arrested 
for  fighting.  '  They  had  been  to  a  funeral^  had  done  the  customary 
honours  by  the  remains  of  the  departed  brother  or  sister  who  had 
suffered,  died,  and  was  "  chested,"  and  then,  after  drowning  their  grief 
in  the  "  cwrw,"  finished  up  in  the  poHce-court  with  a  filiate  involving 
the  payment  of  5^-.  and  costs,  and  8j.  %d.  damage,  or  in  default  twenty- 
one  days'  hard  labour.' — 'Western  Mail,'  Jan.  31,  1877. 


Quaint  Old  Customs. 


3'^3 


people  were  usually  those  who  had,  in  expectation 
of  this  gift,  been  busily  engaged  in  gathering  flowers 


GIVING  FOOD  OVER  THE  COFFIN.     (From  an  old  drazving.) 

and  herbs  with  which  to  grace  the  coffin.     Some- 
times this  dole  was  supplemented  by  the  gift  of  a  loaf 

Y 


324  British  Goblins. 


of  bread  or  a  cheese  with  a  piece  of  money  placed 
inside  it.  After  that  a  cup  of  drink  was  presented, 
and  the  receiver  was  required  to  drink  a  little  of  it 
immediately.^  Alluding  to  this  subject  the  Rev. 
E.  L.  BarnwelP  says  :  '  Although  this  custom  is  no 
longer  in  fashion,  yet  it  is  to  some  extent  represented 
by  the  practice,  especially  in  funerals  of  a  higher 
class,  to  hand  to  those  who  are  invited  to  attend  the 
funeral,  oblong  sponge  cakes  sealed  up  in  paper, 
which  each  one  puts  into  his  or  her  pocket,  but  the 
providing  and  distribution  of  these  cakes  are  now 
often  part  of  the  undertaker's  duty.' 

II. 

What  connection  there  may  be  between  these 
customs  and  the  strange  and  striking  rite  of  the  Sin- 
eater,  is  a  question  worthy  of  careful  consideration. 
It  has  been  the  habit  of  writers  with  family  ties  in 
Wales,  whether  calling  themselves  Welshmen  or 
Englishmen,  to  associate  these  and  like  customs 
with  the  well-known  character  for  hospitality  which 
the  Cymry  have  for  ages  maintained.  Thus  Malkin 
writes  :  '  The  hospitality  of  the  country  is  not  less 
remarkable  on  melancholy  than  on  joyful  occasions. 
The  invitations  to  a  funeral  are  very  general  and 
extensive  ;  and  the  refreshments  are  not  light,  and 
taken  standing,  but  substantial  and  prolonged. 
Any  deficiency  in  the  supply  of  ale  would  be  as 
severely  censured  on  this  occasion,  as  at  a  festival.'^ 
Some  have  thought  that  the  bread-eating  and  beer- 
drinking  are  survivals  of  the  sin-eating  custom 
described  by  Aubrey,  and  repeated  from  him  by 
others.     But  well-informed  Welshmen  have  denied 

^  Pennant,  quoted  by  Roberts,  *  Camb.  Pop.  Ant.,'  175. 
2  '  Arch.  Camb.'  4th  Se.,  iii.,  332. 
•''  '  South  Wales,'  68. 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  325 

that  any  such  custom  as  that  of  the  Sin-eater  ever 
existed  in  Wales  at  any  time,  or  in  the  border  shires  ; 
and  it  must    not  be  asserted  that  they  are  wrong 
unless  we    have    convincing    proof  to    support   the 
assertion.     The  existing  evidence  in  support  of  the 
belief  that  there  were  once  Sin-eaters  in  Wales  I  have 
carefully  collated  and  (excluding  hearsay  and  second- 
hand  accounts),    it   is   here    produced.       The  first 
reference  to  the  Sin-eater  anywhere  to  be  found  is  in 
the  Lansdowne  MSS.  in  the  British  Museum,  in  the 
handwriting  of  John  Aubrey,  the  author.     It  runs 
thus  :   'In  the  county  of  Hereford  was  an  old  custom 
at  funerals  to  hire  poor  people,  who  were  to  take 
upon  them  the  sins  of  the  party  deceased.      One  of 
them  (he  was  a  long,  lean,  ugly,  lamentable  poor 
rascal),    I  remember,  lived  in  a  cottage  on  Rosse 
highway.     The  manner  was  that  when  the  corpse 
was  brought  out  of  the  house,  and  laid  on  the  bier,  a 
loaf  of  bread  was  brought  out,  and  delivered  to  the 
Sin-eater,  over  the  corpse,  as  also  a  mazard  bowl  of 
maple,  full  of  beer  (which  he  was  to  drink  up),  and 
sixpence  in  money,  in  consideration  whereof  he  took 
upon  him,  ipso  facto,  all  the  sins  of  the  defunct,  and 
freed  him  or  her  from  walking  after  they  were  dead.* 
Aubrey  adds,  '  and  this  custom  though  rarely  used  in 
our  days,  yet  by  some  people  was  observed  in  the 
strictest  time  of  the  Presbyterian  Government;   as 
at  Dynder  (nole^is  volens  the  parson  of  the  parish), 
the  kindred  of  a  woman,  deceased  there,  had  this 
ceremony  punctually  performed,    according   to  her 
will :    and  also,  the  like  was  done  at  the   city  of 
Hereford,  in  those  times,  where  a  woman  kept  many 
years  before  her  death  a  mazard  bowl  for  the  Sin- 
eater  ;  and  the  like  in  other  places  in  this  country  ; 
as  also    in    Brecon,   e.g.,   at    Llangors,   where  Mr. 
Gwin,  the  minister,  about  1640,  could  not  hinder  the 


326  British  Goblins. 


performance  of  this  custom.  I  believe,'  says  Aubrey, 
'this  custom  was  heretofore  used  all  over  Wales.'  He 
states  further,  '  a.d.  1686:  This  custom  is  used  to 
this  day  in  North  Wales.'  Upon  this.  Bishop  White 
Kennet  made  this  comment  :  '  It  seems  a  remainder 
of  this  custom  which  lately  obtained  at  Amersden, 
in  the  county  of  Oxford  ;  where,  at  the  burial  of 
every  corpse,  one  cake  and  one  flaggon  of  ale,  just 
after  the  interment,  were  brought  to  the  minister  in 
the  church  porch.'  ^ 

No  other  writer  of  Aubrey's  time,  either  English 
or  Welsh,  appears  to  have  made  any  reference  to 
the  Sin-eater  in  Wales ;  and  equal  silence  prevails 
throughout  the  writings  of  all  previous  centuries. 
Since  Aubrey,  many  references  to  it  have  been  made, 
but  never,  so  far  as  I  can  discover,  by  any  writer  in 
the  Welsh  language — a  singular  omission  if  there 
ever  was  such  a  custom,  for  concerning  every  other 
superstitious  practice  commonly  ascribed  to  Wales 
the  Welsh  have  written  freely. 

In  August,  1852,  the  Cambrian  Archaeological 
Association  held  its  sixth  annual  meeting  at  Ludlow, 
under  the  Presidency  of  Hon.  R.  H.  Clive,  M.P.  At 
this  meeting  Mr.  Matthew  Moggridge,  of  Swansea, 
made  some  observations  on  the  custom  of  the  Sin- 
eater,  when  he  added  details  not  contained  in 
Aubrey's  account  given  above.  He  said  :  '  When  a 
person  died,  his  friends  sent  for  the  Sin-eater  of  the 
district,  who  on  his  arrival  placed  a  plate  of  salt  on 
the  breast  of  the  defunct,  and  upon  the  salt  a  piece 
of  bread.  He  then  muttered  an  incantation  over 
the  bread,  which  he  finally  ate,  thereby  eating  up  all 
the  sins  of  the  deceased.  This  done  he  received  his 
fee  of  IS.  6d.  and  vanished  as  quickly  as  possible 
from  the  general  gaze ;  for,  as  it  was  believed  that 

^  Vide  Hone's  'Year  Book,'  1832,  p.  858. 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  327 

he  really  appropriated  to  his  own  use  and  behoof  the 
sins  of  all  those  over  whom  he  performed  the  above 
ceremony,  he  was  utterly  detested  in  the  neighbour- 
hood— regarded  as  a  mere  Pariah — as  one  irredeem- 
ably lost.'  The  speaker  then  mentioned  the  parish  of 
Llandebie  where  the  above  practice  '  was  said  to  have 
prevailed  to  a  recent  period/  He  spoke  of  the  sur- 
vival of  the  plate  and  salt  custom  near  Swansea,  and 
indeed  generally,  within  twenty  years,  (i.e.  since 
1830)  and  added:  '  In  a  parish  near  Chepstow  it 
was  usual  to  make  the  figure  of  a  cross  on  the  salt, 
and  cutting  an  apple  or  an  orange  into  quarters,  to 
put  one  piece  at  each  termination  of  the  lines.'  Mr. 
Allen,  of  Pembrokeshire,  testified  that  the  plate  and 
salt  were  known  in  that  county,  where  also  a  lighted 
candle  was  stuck  in  the  salt ;  the  popular  notion  was 
that  it  kept  away  the  evil  spirit.  Mr.  E.  A.  Freeman, 
(the  historian)  asked  if  Sin-eater  was  the  term  used 
in  the  district  where  the  custom  prevailed,  and  Mr. 
Moggridge  said  it  was. 

Such  is  the  testimony.  I  venture  no  opinion 
upon  it  further  than  may  be  conveyed  in  the 
remark  that  I  cannot  find  any  direct  corroboration 
of  it,  as  regards  the  Sin-eater,  and  I  have  searched 
diligently  for  it.  The  subject  has  engaged  my 
attention  from  the  first  moment  I  set  foot  on 
Cambrian  soil,  and  I  have  not  only  seen  no  reference 
to  it  in  Welsh  writings,  but  I  have  never  met  any 
unlettered  Welshman  who  had  ever  heard  of  it. 
All  this  proves  nothing,  perhaps  ;  but  it  weighs 
something.^ 

^  Mr.  Eugene  Schuyler's  mention  of  a  corresponding  character  in 
Turkistan  is  interesting  :  '  One  poor  old  man,  however,  I  noticed,  who 
seemed  constantly  engaged  in  prayer.  On  calling  attention  to  him 
I  was  told  that  he  was  an  iskatchi,  a  person  who  gets  his  living  by 
taking  on  himself  the  sins  of  the  dead,  and  thenceforth  devoting  him- 
self to  prayer  for  their  souls.  He  corresponds  to  the  Sin-eater  of  the 
Welsh  border,' — '  Turkistan,'  ii.,  28. 


328  British  Goblins. 


III. 

Of  superstitions  regarding  salt,  there  are  many 
in  Wales.  I  have  even  encountered  the  special 
custom  of  placing  a  plate  of  salt  on  the  breast  of 
the  corpse.  In  the  case  of  an  old  woman  from 
Cardiganshire,  who  was  buried  at  Cardiff,  and  who 
was  thus  decked  by  her  relatives,  I  was  told  the 
purpose  of  the  plate  of  salt  was  to  '  prevent  swelling.' 
There  is  an  Irish  custom  of  placing  a  plate  of  snuff 
on  the  body  of  a  corpse  ;  hence  the  saying,  addressed 
to  an  enemy,  '  I'll  get  a  pinch  off  your  belly  yet.' 
The  Irish  also  employ  the  plate  of  salt  in  the  same 
manner.  In  view  of  the  universal  prevalence  of 
superstitions  regarding  salt,  too  much  weight  should 
not  be  placed  on  this  detail,  in  connection  with  the 
accounts  of  the  Sin-eater.  Such  superstitions  are  of 
extreme  antiquity,  and  they  still  survive  even  among 
the  most  cultivated  classes.  Salt  falling  toward  a 
person  was  of  old  considered  a  most  unlucky  omen, 
the  evil  of  which  could  only  be  averted  by  throwing 
a  little  of  the  fallen  salt  over  the  shoulder.  My 
own  wife  observes  this  heathen  rite  to  this  day, 
and  so,  I  fancy,  do  most  men's  wives — jocularly, 
no  doubt,  but  with  a  sort  of  feeling  that  '  if  there 
is  anything  in  it,'  &c.  Salt  was  the  ancient  symbol 
of  friendship,  being  deemed  incorruptible.  In  the 
Isle  of  Man  no  important  business  was  ventured 
on  without  salt  in  the  pocket ;  marrying,  moving, 
even  the  receiving  of  alms,  must  be  sanctified  by 
an  exchange  of  salt  between  the  parties.  An 
influential  legend  is  noted  among  the  Manx  inhabi- 
tants, of  the  dissolution  of  an  enchanted  palace  on 
that  island,  through  the  spilling  of  salt  on  the 
ground.  In  Da  Vinci's  picture  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
Judas  Iscariot  is  represented  as  overturning  the  salt 


i 


Quaini  Old  Customs.  329 

— an  omen  of  the  coming  betrayal  of  Christ  by 
that  personage.  In  Russia,  should  a  friend  pass 
you  the  salt  without  smiling,  a  quarrel  will  follow. 
The  Scotch  put  salt  in  a  cow's  first  milk  after 
calving.  Even  the  Chinese  throw  salt  into  water 
from  which  a  person  has  been  rescued  from  drowning. 
All  these  practices  point  either  to  lustration  or 
propitiation. 

IV. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  custom  of  the 
Sin-eater  is  in  imitation  of  the  Biblical  scapegoat. 
'  And  Aaron  shall  lay  both  his  hands  upon  the  head 
of  the  live  goat,  and  confess  over  him  all  the 
iniquities  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  all  their 
transgressions  in  all  their  sins,  putting  them  upon 
the  head  of  the  goat,  and  shall  send  him  away  by 
the  hand  of  a  fit  man  into  the  wilderness.  And 
the  goat  shall  bear  upon  him  all  their  iniquities  unto 
a  land  not  inhabited  :  and  he  shall  let  go  the  goat 
in  the  wilderness.'^  This  brings  up  the  subject  of 
charms  and  magic,  and  is  illustrated  in  Wales,  if  not 
by  the  Sin-eater,  by  the  cock  and  hen  of  St.  Tegla's 
Well.  This  well  is  about  half-way  between  Wrexham 
and  Ruthin,  in  the  parish  of  Llandegla,  and  has 
been  considered  efficacious  in  curing  epilepsy.  One 
of  the  common  names  of  that  complaint  in  Welsh 
is  Clwyf  y  Tegla,  (Tegla's  disease).  Relief  is 
obtained  by  bathing  in  the  well,  and  performing  a 
superstitious  ceremony  in  this  manner  :  The  patient 
repairs  to  the  well  after  sunset,  and  washes  himself 
in  it  ;  then,  having  made  an  offering  by  throwing 
into  the  water  fourpence,  he  walks  round  it  three 
times,  and  thrice  recites  the  Lord's  Prayer.  If  of 
the  male  sex,  he  offers  a  cock  ;  if  a  woman,  a  hen. 
The  bird  is  carried  in  a  basket,  first  round  the  well, 

^  Levit.  xvi.,  21,  22. 


33 o  British  Goblins. 


then  round  the  church,  and  the  rite  of  repeating  the 
Pater  Noster  again  performed.  After  all  this,  he 
enters  the  church,  creeps  under  the  altar,  and  making 
the  Bible  his  pillow  and  the  communion  cloth  his 
coverlet,  remains  there  until  the  break  of  day. 
In  the  morning,  having  made  a  further  offering  of 
sixpence,  he  leaves  the  cock  (or  hen,  as  the  case 
may  be)  and  departs.  *  Should  the  bird  die,  it  is 
supposed  that  the  disease  has  been  transferred  to  it, 
and  the  man  or  woman  consequently  cured.' ^  The 
custom  is  associated  with  the  ancient  Druids  as  well 
as  with  the  Jews,  and  its  resemblance  to  the  scape- 
goat is  suggestive. 

v. 

The  funeral  procession,  in  rural  districts  where 
hearses  are  unknown,  wends  its  way  graveward  on 
foot,  with  the  corpse  borne  by  the  nearest  relatives 
of  the  deceased,  a  custom  probably  introduced  in 
Wales  during  their  residence  here  by  the  Romans. 
The  coffin  of  Metellus,  the  conqueror  of  Macedon, 
was  borne  by  his  four  sons.  The  coffins  of  Roman 
citizens  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  Republic,  were 
borne  by  justices  and  senators,  while  those  of  the 
enemies  of  the  people  were  borne  by  slaves  and 
hired  servants.  As  the  Welsh  procession  winds  its 
way  along  the  green  lanes,  psalms  and  hymns  are 
sung  continually,  except  on  coming  to  cross-roads. 
Here  the  bier  is  set  down,  and  all  kneel  and  repeat 
the  Lord's  Prayer.  The  origin  of  this  custom,  as 
given  by  the  Welsh,  is  to  be  found  in  the  former 
practice  of  burying  criminals  at  cross-roads.  It 
was  believed  that  the  spirits  of  these  criminals  did 
not  go  far  away  from  the  place  where  their  bodies 
lay,  and  the  repeating  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  was 
supposed    to  destroy  and    do  away  with  any  evil 

^  Ab  Ithel,  'Arch.  Camb.'  ist  Se.,  i.,  184. 


Quaint  Old  Customs. 


ZZ"^ 


influence  these  spirits  might  have  on  the  soul  of  the 
dear  departed/ 

The  Welsh  retain  much  of  the  superstitious 
feeling  regarding  the  graves  of  criminals  and  suicides. 
There  is  indeed  a  strong  prejudice  against  hanging, 
on  account  of  the  troublesome  spirits  thus  let  loose. 
The  well-known  leniency  of  a  '  Cardigan  jury '  may 
be  connected  with  this  prejudice,  though  it  is  usually 
associated  with  a  patriotic  feeling.  '  What !  would 
you  have  hur  hang  hur  own  countryman  ?'  is  the 
famous  response  of  a  Cardigan  juror,  who  was  asked 
why  he  and  his  brethren  acquitted  a  murderer. 
The  tale  may  be  only  a  legend  ;  the  fact  it  illustrates 
is  patent.  It  is  related  that  in  a  dispute  between 
two  Cardigan  farmers,  some  fifty  years  ago,  one  of 
them  killed  the  other.  The  jury,  believing  the 
killing  was  unintentional,  acquitted  the  homicide  ; 
but  '  whether  the  man  was  guilty  or  not,  his  neigh- 
bours and  the  people  who  Hved  in  the  district,  and 
who  knew  the  spot  where  the  farmer  was  killed, 
threw  a  stone  upon  it  whenever  they  passed,  probably 
to  show  their  abhorrence  of  the  deed  that  had  been 
perpetrated  in  that  place.  By  this  means  a  large 
heap  of  stones,  which  was  allowed  to  remain  for 
many  years,  arose. '^  They  were  then  removed  to 
repair  the  turnpike.  This  custom  is  apparently 
Jewish.  Hangings  are  almost  unknown  in  Wales, 
whether  from  the  extra  morality  of  the  people,  or 
the  prejudice  above  noted. 

VI. 

The  legend  of  the  Grassless  Grave  is  a  well-known 
Montgomeryshire  tale,  concerning  a  certain  spot  of 
earth  in  the  graveyard  of  Montgomery  Castle,  upon 
which  the  verdure  is  less  luxuriant  than   in  other 

^  '  Cymru  Fu,' 92.  ^  '  Bye-goncs,'  March  22,  1876. 


332  British  Goblins. 


portions  of  the  yard.  One  dark  November  night, 
many  years  ago,  a  man  named  John  Newton,  who 
had  been  at  Welshpool  fair,  set  out  for  home.  Soon 
after,  he  was  brought  back  to  Welshpool  in  the 
custody  of  two  men,  who  charged  him  with  highway 
robbery,  a  crime  then  punishable  with  death.  He 
was  tried,  and  executed,  in  spite  of  his  protestations  ; 
and  in  his  last  speech,  admitting  he  had  committed 
a  former  crime,  but  protesting  he  was  innocent  of 
this,  he  said  :  '  I  have  offered  a  prayer  to  Heaven, 
and  believe  it  has  been  heard  and  accepted.  And 
in  meek  dependence  on  a  merciful  God,  whom  I 
have  offended,  but  who,  through  the  atonement  of 
His  blessed  Son,  has,  I  trust,  pardoned  my  offence, 
I  venture  to  assert  that  as  I  am  innocent  of  the 
crime  for  which  I  suffer,  the  grass,  for  one  genera- 
tion at  least,  will  not  cover  my  grave.'  For 
thirty  years  thereafter,  the  grave  was  grassless ;  a 
bare  spot  in  the  shape  of  a  coffin  marked,  amidst 
the  surrounding  luxuriance,  the  place  where  lay  the 
penitent  criminal,  unjustly  executed.  Then  a 
sacrilegious  hand  planted  the  spot  with  turf ;  but  it 
withered  as  if  blasted  by  lightning  ;  and  the  grave 
is  still  grassless — certainly  an  unnecessary  extension 
of  the  time  set  by  the  defunct  for  Its  testimony  to 
his  innocence. 

VII. 

A  curious  surviving  custom  at  Welsh  funerals  Is 
the  Offrwm,  or  parson's  penny.  After  having  read 
the  burial  service  In  the  church,  the  parson  stands 
behind  a  table  while  a  psalm  Is  being  sung,  and  to 
him  go  the  mourners,  one  and  all,  and  deposit  a 
piece  of  money  on  the  table.  The  parson  counts  it, 
states  the  amount,  and  pockets  it.  If  the  mourner 
depositing  his  offrwm  be  wealthy,  he  will  give 
perhaps   a   guinea ;    if  a  farmer  or  tradesman,    his 


Quaint  Old  Customs,  333 

gift  will  be  a  crown  ;  and  if  poor,  he  will  lay  down 
his  sixpence.  '  Each  one  that  intended  making  an 
offering  of  silver,  would  go  up  to  the  altar  in  his 
turn,  and  after  each  one  had  contributed  there  would 
be  a  respite,  after  which  those  who  gave  copper  as 
their  offering  went  forward  and  did  likewise  ;  but 
no  coppers  were  offered  at  any  respectable  funeral. 
These  offerings  often  reached  the  sum  of  ten  and 
even  twenty  pounds  in  the  year.'  Thus  the  Welsh 
work,  '  Cymru  Fu,'  speaking  as  usual  in  the  past 
tense ;  but  the  custom  is  a  present-day  one.  The 
Welsh  believe  that  this  custom  was  originally 
intended  to  compensate  the  clergyman  for  praying 
for  the  soul  of  the  departed.  It  has  now  ceased 
to  mean  anything  more  than  a  tribute  of  respect 
to  the  deceased,  or  a  token  of  esteem  towards  the 
officiating  clergyman. 

In  the  parish  of  Defynog,  Breconshire,  there  was 
a  custom  (up  to  1843,  when  it  seems  to  have  ceased 
through  the  angry  action  of  a  lawless  widower,)  of 
giving  to  the  parish  clerk  the  best  pair  of  shoes  and 
stockings  left  behind  by  the  defunct.^ 

A  still  more  curious  form  of  the  offrwm,  which 
also  survives  in  many  rural  neighbourhoods,  is  called 
the  Arian  y  Rhaw,  or  spade  money.  At  the  grave, 
the  gravedigger  rubs  the  soil  off  his  spade,  extends 
it  for  donations,  and  receives  a  piece  of  silver  from 
each  one  in  turn,  which  he  also  pockets.  In 
Merionethshire  the  money  is  received  at  the  grave 
in  a  bowl,  instead  of  on  the  spade,  and  the  gift  is 
simply  called  the  offrwm.  '  I  well  recollect,  when 
a  lad,'  says  an  entertaining  correspondent,^  'at 
Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant,  seeing  the  clerk  or  sexton 
cleaning  his  spade  with  the  palm  of  his  hand,  and 
blowing  the  remaining  dust,  so  that  the  instrument 

'Arch.  Camb.,'  2nd  Se.,  iv.,  326.2  i  Bye-gones,'  Oct.  17,  1877. 


1  i. 


334  British  Goblins. 


of  his  calling  should  be  clean  and  presentable,  and 
then,  with  due  and  clerk-like  gravity,  presenting 
his  polished  spade,  first  to  the  "  cyfneseifiaid  "  (next- 
of-kin),  and  then  to  the  mourners  one  by  one, 
giving  all  an  opportunity  of  showing  their  respect 
to  the  dead,  by  giving  the  clerk  the  accustomed 
offrwm.  At  times  the  old  clerk,  ''yr  hen  glochydd," 
when  collecting  the  offrwm,  rather  than  go  around 
the  grave  to  the  people,  to  the  no  small  annoyance 
of  the  friends,  would  reach  his  spade  over  the  grave. 
At  the  particular  time  referred  to,  the  clerk,  having 
nearly  had  all  the  offrwm,  saw  that  facetious  wag 
and  practical  joker,  Mr.  B.,  extending  his  offering 
towards  him  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  grave. 
The  clerk,  as  was  his  wont,  extended  the  spade 
over  the  grave  towards  the  offered  gift.  The 
opportunity  for  fun  was  not  to  be  lost,  and  whilst 
placing  his  offrwm  on  the  spade,  Mr.  B.  pressed 
on  one  corner,  and  the  spade  turned  in  the  hands 
of  the  unwitting  clerk,  emptying  the  whole  offering 
into  the  grave,  to  the  no  small  surprise  of  the  clerk, 
who  never  forgot  the  lesson,  and  the  great  amuse- 
ment of  the  standers-by.'  It  is  noted  in  this  con- 
nection that  the  sexton's  spade  '  was  a  terror  to 
the  superstitious,  for  if  the  gravedigger  would  but 
shake  his  spade  at  anyone,  it  was  a  matter  of  but 
short  time  ere  the  sexton  would  be  called  upon  to 
dig  the  grave  of  that  person  who  had  come  under 
the  evil  influence  of  the  spade.  ''  Has  the  sexton 
shook  his  spade  at  you  ? "  was  a  question  often  put 
to  a  person  in  bad  health.' 

VIII. 

Until  a  recent  date,  burials  without  a  coffin  were 
common  in  some  parts  of  Wales.  Old  people  in 
Montgomeryshire    not    many    years    ago,   could    re- 


I 


Quaint  Old  Customs.  335 


member  such  burials,  in  what  was  called  the  cadach 
deupen,  or  cloth  with  two  heads.  Old  Richard 
Griffith,  of  Trefeglwys,  who  died  many  years  ago, 
recollected  a  burial  in  this  fashion  there,  when  the 
cloth  gave  way  and  was  rent ;  whereupon  the  clergy- 
man prohibited  any  further  burials  in  that  church- 
yard without  a  coffin.  That  was  the  last  burial  of 
the  kind  which  took  place  in  Montgomeryshire.^ 

In  the  middle  ages  there  was  a  Welsh  custom  of 
burying  the  dead  in  the  garment  of  a  monk,  as  a 
protection  against  evil  spirits.  This  was  popular 
among  the  wealthy,  and  was  a  goodly  source  of 
priestly  revenue. 

IX. 

Sul  Coffa  is  an  old  Welsh  custom  of  honouring 
the  dead  on  the  Sunday  following  the  funeral,  and 
for  several  succeeding  Sundays,  until  the  violence 
of  grief  has  abated.  In  the  Journal  of  Thomas 
Dinelly,  Esquire,  an  Englishman  who  travelled 
through  Wales  and  Ireland  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  11.,^  this  passage  occurs,  after  description 
of  the  wake,  the  keening,  etc.  :  '  This  done  y^  Irish 
bury  their  dead,  and  if  it  be  in  or  neer  y^  burying 
place  of  that  family,  the  servants  and  followers  hugg 
kiss  howle  and  weep  over  the  skulls  that  are  there 
digg'd  up  and  once  a  week  for  a  quarter  of  an  year 
after  come  two  or  three  and  pay  more  noyse  at  the 
place.'  The  similarity  in  spirit  between  this  and 
the  Welsh  Sul  Coffa  is  as  striking  as  the  difference 
in  practice.  The  Welsh  walk  quietly  and  gravely 
to  the  solemn  mound  beneath  which  rest  the  re- 
mains of  the  loved,  and  there  kneeling  in  silence 
for  five  or  ten  minutes,  pray  or  appear  to  pray. 

The   Sul   Coffa  of   Ivan  the   Harper   is  a  well- 

^  '  Bye-gones,'  Nov.  22,  1876. 

2  Quoted  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Kilkenny  Arch.  See,  1858. 


^^6  British  Goblins, 


known  anecdote.  Ivan  the  Harper  was  a  noted 
character  in  his  day,  who  desired  that  his  coffa 
should  be  thus :  '  I  should  like,'  said  he,  on  his 
death-bed,  '  to  have  my  coffa ;  but  not  in  the  old 
style.  Instead  of  the  old  custom  ask  Williams  of 
Merllyn  and  Richard  the  Harper  to  attend  the 
church  at  Llanfwrog,  and  give  these,  my  disciples, 
my  two  harps,  and  after  the  service  is  over,  let  them 
walk  to  my  grave  ;  let  Williams  sit  at  the  head  and 
Richard  at  the  feet,  of  my  grave,  and  let  them 
play  seven  Welsh  airs,  beginning  with  Dafydd  y 
Garreg  Wen,'  (David  of  the  White  Stone)  '  and 
ending  with,  Toriad  y  Dydd,'  (the  Dawn.)  '  The 
former  is  in  a  flat  key,  like  death,  and  the  latter  is 
as  sober  as  the  day  of  judgment.'  This  request  was 
religiously  obeyed  by  the  mourners  on  the  ensuing 
Sul  Coffa. 

X. 

Reference  has  been  made,  in  the  chapter  on 
courtship  and  marriage,  to  the  Welsh  practice  of 
planting  graves  with  flowers.  There  are  graves  in 
Glamorganshire  which  have  been  kept  blooming 
with  flowers  for  nearly  a  century  without  interrup- 
tion, through  the  loving  care  of  descendants  of  the 
departed.  By  a  most  graceful  custom  which  also 
prevailed  until  recently,  each  mourner  at  a  funeral 
carried  in  his  hand  a  sprig  of  rosemary,  which  he 
threw  into  the  grave.  The  Pagan  practice  of 
throwing  a  sprig  of  cypress  into  the  grave  has  been 
thought  to  symbolize  the  annihilation  of  the  body, 
as  these  sprigs  would  not  grow  if  set  in  the  earth  : 
whereas  the  rosemary  was  to  signify  the  resurrection 
or  up-springing  of  the  body  from  the  grave.  The 
existing  custom  of  throwing  flowers  and  immortelles 
into  the  grave  is  derivable  from  the  ancient  practice. 
But  the  Welsh  carry  the  association  of  graves  and 


Quaint  Old  Customs. 


331 


floral  life  to  the  most  lavish  extreme,  as  has  already 
been  pointed  out.  Shakspeare  has  alluded  to  this 
in  '  Cymbeline,'  the  scene  of  which  tragedy  is  princi- 
pally in  Pembrokeshire,  at  and  about  Milford 
Haven  : 

Arv.     With  fairest  flowers, 
Whilst  summer  lasts,  and  I  live  here,  Fidele, 
I'll  sweeten ithy  sad  grave  :  Thou  shalt  not  lack 
The  flower,  that's  like  thy  face,  pale  primrose ;  nor 
The  azur'd  harebell,  like  thy  veins  ;  no,  nor 
The  leaf  of  eglantine,  whom  not  to  slander, 
Outsweeten'd  not  thy  breath.^ 


'  Cymbehne,'  Act  iv.,  Sc.  2. 


DAFYDD  Y  GARREG  WEN. 


~^^^m 


British  Goblins. 


BOOK   IV. 

BELLS,  WELLS,  STONES,  AND  DRAGONS. 

Gorgons,  and  hydras,  and  chimeras  dire. 

Milton  :  Paradise  Lost. 

Then  up  there  raise  ane  wee  wee  man 

Franethe  the  moss-gray  stane  ; 
His  face  was  wan  Hke  the  colli flom'e, 

For  he  nouthir  had  blude  nor  bane. 

Hogg  :  The  Witch  of  Fife. 

.  .  .  where  he  stood, 
Of  auncient  time  there  was  a  springing  well. 
From  which  fast  trickled  forth  a  silver  flood. 
Full  of  great  vcrtues,  and  for  med'cine  good  :  .  .  . 
For  unto  life  the  dead  it  could  restore. 

Spenser  :  Faery  Queene. 


CHAPTER  L 

Base  of  the  Primeval  Mythology— Bells  and  their  Ghosts— The  Bell 
that  committed  Murder  and  was  damned  for  it — The  Occult  Powers 
of  Bells — Their  Work  as  Detectives,  Doctors,  etc.— Legend  of  the 
Bell  of  Rhayader— St.  Illtyd's  Wonderful  Bell— The  Golden  Bell  of 
Llandaff. 

L 

The  human  mind  in  its  infancy  turns  instinctively 
to  fetichism.  The  mind  of  primeval  man  resembled 
that  of  a  child.  Children  have  to  learn  by  experi- 
ence that  the  fire  which  burns  them  is  not  instigated 
by  malice.^     In  his  primitive    condition,  man   per- 

^  A  Mississippi  negro-boy  who  was  brought  by  a  friend  of  mine  from 
his  southern  home  to  a  northern  city,  and  who  had  never  seen  snow, 
found  the  ground  one  morning  covered  with  what  he  supposed  to  be 
salt,  and  going  out  to  get  some,  returned  complaining  that  it  '  bit  his 
fingers.' 


Bells,    Wells,  Slofies,  and  Dragons.         339 

sonified  everything  in  nature.  Animate  and  in- 
animate objects  were  alike  endowed  with  feeHngs, 
passions,  emotions,  moral  qualities.  On  this  basis 
rests  the  primeval  mythology. 

The  numerous  superstitions  associated  with  bells, 
wells  and  stones  in  Wales,  excite  constant  inquiries 
as  regards  their  origin   in  fetichism,   in  paganism, 
in  solar  worship,  or  in  church  observances.     That 
bells,  especially,  should  suggest  the  supernatural  to 
the  vulgar  mind  is  not  strange.     The  occult  powers 
of  bells  have  place  in  the  popular  belief  of  many 
lands.     The  Flemish  child  who  wonders  how  the 
voices  got  into  the  bells  is  paralleled  by  the  Welsh 
lad  who  hears  the  bells  of   Aberdovey  talking  in 
metrical  words  to  a  musical  chime.     The  ghosts  of 
bells  are  believed  to  haunt  the  earth  in  many  parts 
lof  Wales.     Allusion  has  been  made  to  those  castle 
Ibells  which  are  heard  ringing  from  the  submerged 
towers   in  Crumlyn  lake.     Like  fancies  are  associ- 
Lted  with  many  Welsh  lakes.     In  Langorse  Pool, 
'Breconshire,  an  ancient   city  is  said  to  lie  buried, 
from  whose  cathedral  bells  on  a  calm  day  may  be 
'heard  a  faint  and  muffled  chime,  pealing  solemnly 
far  down  in  the  sepial  depths.     A  legend  of  Tref- 
ithin  relates  that  in  the  church  of  St.  Cadoc,  at 
that  place,  was  a  bell  of  wondrous  powers,  a  gift 
from  Llewellyn  ap  lorwerth,  Lord  of  Caerleon.     A 
little  child  who  had  climbed  to  the  belfry  was  struck 
by  the  bell  and  killed,  not  through  the  wickedness 
of  the  bell  itself,  but   through  a  spell  which    had 
been  put    upon  the  unfortunate    instrument  by  an 
evil   spirit.       But   though    innocent   of    murderous 
intent,    the   wretched    bell   became   forfeit   to    the 
demons  on  account  of  its  fatal  deed.     They  seized 
it  and  bore  it  down  through  the  earth  to  the  shadow- 
realm  of  annwn.     And  ever  since  that  day,  when  a 

z 


340 


British  Goblins. 


child  is  accidentally  slain  at  Trefethin,  the  bell  of 
St.  Cadoc  is  heard  tolling  mournfully  underneath 
the  ground  where  it  disappeared  ages  ago. 

II. 

There  was  anciently  a  belief  that  the  sound  of 
brass  would  break  enchantment,  as  well  as  cause 
it  ;  and  it  is  presumed  that  the  original  purpose  of 
the  common  custom  of  tolling  the  bell  for  the  dead 
was  to  drive  away  evil  spirits.  Originally,  the  bell 
was  tolled  not  for  the  dead,  but  for  the  dying  ;  it 
was  believed  that  evil  spirits  were  hovering  about 
the  sick  chamber,  waiting  to  pounce  on  the  soul  as 
soon  as  it  should  get  free  from  the  body ;  and  the 
bell  was  tolled  for  the  purpose  of  driving  them 
away.  Later,  the  bell  was  not  tolled  till  death  had 
occurred,  and  this  form  of  the  custom  survives  here, 
as  in  many  lands.  Before  the  Reformation  there 
was  kept  in  all  Welsh  churches  a  handbell,  which 
was  taken  by  the  sexton  to  the  house  where  a 
funeral  was  to  be  held,  and  rung  at  the  head  of  the 
procession.  When  the  voices  of  the  singers  were 
silent  at  the  end  of  a  psalm,  the  bell  would  take  up 
the  burden  of  complaint  in  measured  and  mournful 
tones,  and  ring  till  another  psalm  was  begun.  It 
was  at  this  period  deemed  sacred.  The  custom 
survived  long  after  the  Reformation  in  many  places, 
as  at  Caerleon,  the  little  Monmouthshire  village 
which  was  a  bustling  Roman  city  when  London 
was  a  hamlet.  The  bell — called  the  bangu — was 
still  preserved  in  the  parish  of  Llanfair  Duffryn 
Clwyd  half-a-dozen  years  ago.  I  believe  the  cus- 
tom of  ringing  a  handbell  before  the  corpse  on  its 
way  through  the  streets  is  still  observed  at  Oxford, 
when  a  university  man  is  buried.  The  town  mar- 
shal is  the  bellman  for  this  office.     The  custom  is 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         341 

associated  with  the  same  superstitious  belief  which 
is  seen  in  the  *  passing  bell,'  the  notes  of  pure  bronze 
freeing  the  soul  from  the  power  of  evil  spirits. 

III. 

The  Welsh  were  formerly  strong  In  the  belief  that 
bells  could  perform  miracles,  detect  thieves,  heal  the 
sick,  and  the  like.  In  many  instances  they  were 
possessed  of  locomotive  powers,  and  would  transport 
themselves  from  place  to  place  when  they  had  occa- 
sion, according  to  their  own  sweet  will,  and  without 
human  intervention.  It  is  even  recorded  that  cer- 
tain handbells  required  to  be  tied  with  the  double 
cord  of  an  exorcism  and  a  piece  of  twine,  or  they 
would  get  up  and  walk  off  in  the  night. 

Bells  which  presaged  storms,  as  well  as  other 
disasters,  have  been  believed  to  exist  in  many  parts 
of  Wales.  In  Pembrokeshire  the  unexpected  tolling 
of  a  church  bell  in  the  night  is  held  to  be  the  sure 
precursor  of  a  calamity — a  belief  which  may  be 
paralleled  in  London,  where  there  are  still  people 
who  believe  such  tolling  on  the  part  of  the  great 
bell  of  St.  Paul's  portends  disaster  to  the  royal 
family.  In  the  Cromwellian  wars,  the  sacrilegious 
followers  of  the  stern  old  castle-hater  carried  off  a 
great  bell  from  St.  David's,  Pembrokeshire.  They 
managed  to  get  it  on  shipboard,  but  in  passing 
through  Ramsey  Sound  the  vessel  was  wrecked — 
a  direct  result,  the  superstitious  said,  of  profanely 
treating  the  bell.  Ever  since  that  time,  Pembroke 
people  have  been  able  to  hear  this  sunken  bell  ring 
from  its  watery  grave  when  a  storm  is  rising. 

IV. 
The  legend  of  the  Bell  of  Rhayader  perpetuates 
a  class  of  story  which  reappears  in  other  parts  of 

z  2 


342  British  Goblins. 


Great  Britain.  It  was  in  the  twelfth  century  that  a 
certain  contumacious  knight  wlas  imprisoned  in  the 
castle  of  Rhayader.  His  wife,  being  devoted  to 
him,  and  a  good  Catholic,  besought  the  aid  of  the 
monks  to  get  him  out.  They  were  equal  to  the 
occasion,  at  least  in  so  far  as  to  provide  for  her  ser- 
vice a  magical  bell,  which  possessed  the  power  of 
liberating  from  confinement  any  prisoner  who  should 
set  it  up  on  the  wall  and  ring  it.  The  wife  succeeded 
in  getting  the  bell  secretly  into  her  husband's  pos- 
session, and  he  set  it  up  on  the  wall  and  rang  it. 
But  although  he  had  gathered  his  belongings  to- 
gether and  was  fully  prepared  to  go,  the  doors  of 
his  prison  refused  to  open.  The  castellan  mocked 
at  the  magical  bell,  and  kept  the  knight  in  durance 
vile.  So  therefore  (for  of  course  the  story  could  not 
be  allowed  to  end  here)  the  castle  was  struck  by 
lightning,  and  both  it  and  the  town  were  burned  in 
one  night — excepting  only  the  wall  upon  which 
the  magic  bell  was  hanging.  Nothing  remains  of 
the  castle  walls  in  this  day. 


The  bell  of  St.  Illtyd  was  greatly  venerated  in 
the  middle  ages.  A  legend  concerning  this  won- 
derful bell  relates  that  a  certain  king  had  stolen  it 
from  the  church,  and  borne  it  into  England,  tied 
about  the  neck  of  one  of  his  horses.  For  this  deed 
the  king  was  destroyed,  but  repenting  before  his 
death,  ordered  the  bell  to  be  restored  to  its  place  in 
Wales.  Without  waiting  to  be  driven,  the  horse 
with  the  bell  about  his  neck  set  out  for  Wales,  fol- 
lowed by  a  whole  drove  of  horses,  drawn  by  the 
melodious  sound  of  the  bell.  Wonderful  to  tell,  the  i 
horse  was  able  to  cross  the  river  Severn  and  come  ti 
into  Wales,  the  great  collection  of  horses  following. 


Bells^    Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         343 

'  Then  hastening  along  the  shore,  and  over  the 
mountains,  and  through  the  woods,  he  came  to  the 
road  which  went  towards  Glamorgan,  all  the  horses 
hearing,  and  following  the  sweet  sound.'  When 
they  came  to  the  banks  of  the  river  Taf,  a  clergy- 
man heard  the  sound  of  the  bell,  and  went  out  to 
meet  the  horse,  and  they  together  carried  the  bell 
to  the  gate  of  St.  lUtyd's  church.  There  the  horse 
bent  down  and  loosed  his  precious  burden  from  his 
neck,  '  and  it  fell  on  a  stone,  from  which  fall  a  part 
of  it  was  broken,  which  is  to  be  seen  until  the  pre- 
sent day,  in  memory  of  the  eminent  miracle.*  ^ 

Some  thirty  years  ago  a  bell  was  discovered  at 
Llantwit  Major,  in  Glamorganshire,  which  was 
thought  to  be  the  identical  bell  of  this  saint.  The 
village  named  was  the  scene  of  his  exploits,  many 
of  which  were  miraculous  to  the  point  of  Arabian 
Nights  marvelousness.  The  discovered  bell  was 
inscribed  '  Sancte  Iltute,  ora  pro  nobis,'  and  stood 
upon  the  gable  of  the  quaint  old  town-hall.  But 
though  the  bell  was  unmistakably  ancient,  it  bore 
intrinsic  evidence  of  having  been  cast  long  after  the 
saint's  death,  when  his  name  had  become  venerated. 
He  was  one  of  King  Arthur's  soldiers,  who  after- 
wards renounced  the  world,  and  founded  several 
churches  in  Glamorganshire. 

VI. 

Among  the  many  legends  of  Llandaff  which  still 
linger  familiarly  on  the  lips  of  the  people  is  that  of 
the  bell  of  St.  Oudoceus,  second  bishop  of  that  see. 
In  the  ancient  '  Book  of  Llandaff,'  where  are  pre- 
served the  records  of  that  cathedral  from  the  earliest 
days  of  Christianity  on  this  island,  the  legend  is  thus 
related  :    '  St.  Oudoceus,  being  thirsty  after  under- 

^  '  Cambro-British  Saints,'  492. 


344 


British  Goblins. 


going  labour,  and  more  accustomed  to  drink  water 
than  any  other  Hquor,  came  to  a  fountain  in  the  vale 
of  Llandaff,  not  far  from  the  church,  that  he  might 
drink,  where  he  found  women  washing  butter,  after 
the  manner  of  the  country ;  and  sending  to  them 
his  messengers  and  disciples,  they  requested  that 
they  would  accommodate  them  with  a  vessel,  that 
their  pastor  might  drink  therefrom  ;  who,  ironically, 
as  mischievous  girls,  said,  *'  We  have  no  cup  besides 
that  which  we  hold  in  our  hands,  namely,  the  butter." 
And  the  man  of  blessed  memory  taking  it,  formed 
one  in  the  shape  of  a  small  bell,  and  he  raised  his 
hand  so  that  he  might  drink  therefrom,  and  he 
drank.  And  it  remained  in  that  form,  that  is,  a 
golden  one,  so  that  it  appeared  to  those  who  beheld 
it  to  consist  altogether  of  the  purest  gold,  which,  by 
divine  power,  is  from  that  day  reverently  preserved 
in  the  church  of  Llandaff  in  memory  of  the  holy 
man,  and  it  is  said  that  by  touching  it  health  is  given 
to  the  diseased.'  ^ 


^  '  Liber  Landavensis,'  378. 

CLYCHAU  ABERDYFI. 

(The  Bells  of  Aberdovey.) 


(     345     ) 


CHAPTER  II. 

Mystic  Wells— Their  Good  and  Bad  Dispositions — St.  Winifred's  Well 
—The  Legend  of  St.  Winifred— Miracles— St.  Tecla's  Well— St. 
Dwynwen's — Curing  Love-sickness — St.  Cynfran's — St.  Cynhafal's 
— Throwing  Pins  in  Wells  —Warts — Barry  Island  and  its  Legends — 
Ffynon  Gwynwy — Propitiatory  Gifts  to  Wells — The  Dreadful 
Cursing  Well  of  St.  EHan's— Wells  Flowing  with  Milk— St.  lUtyd's— 
Taft"'sWell — Sanford's  Well — Origins  of  Superstitions  of  this  Class. 

I. 

The  waters  of  mystery  which  flow  at  Lourdes,  in 
France,  are  paralleled  in  numberless  Welsh  parishes. 
In  every  comer  of  Cambria  may  be  found  wells 
which  possess  definite  attributes,  malicious  or  bene- 
ficent, which  they  are  popularly  supposed  to  actively 
exert  toward  mankind.  In  almost  every  instance, 
the  name  of  the  tutelary  saint  to  whom  the  well  is 
consecrated  is  known  to  the  peasantry,  and  generally 
they  can  tell  you  something  about  him,  or  her. 
Unnumbered  centuries  have  elapsed  since  the  saint 
lived  ;  nay,  generation  upon  generation  has  perished 
since  any  complete  knowledge  of  his  life  or  character 
existed,  save  in  mouldering  manuscripts  left  by 
monks,  themselves  long  turned  to  dust;  yet  the 
tradition  of  the  saint  as  regards  the  well  is  there,  a 
living  thing  beside  its  waters.  However  lightly 
some  forms  of  superstition  may  at  times  be  treated 
by  the  vulgar,  they  are  seldom  capable  of  irreverent 
remark  concerning  the  well.  In  many  cases  this 
respect  amounts  to  awe. 

These  wells  are  of  varying  power  and  disposition. 
Some  are  healing  wells ;  others  are  cursing  wells  ; 


34^  British  Goblins. 


still  others  combine  the  power  alike  to  curse  and  to 
cure.  Some  are  sovereign  in  their  influence  over 
all  the  diseases  from  which  men  suffer,  mental  and 
moral  as  well  as  physical ;  others  can  cure  but  one 
disease,  or  one  specific  class  of  diseases  ;  and  others 
remedy  all  the  misfortunes  of  the  race,  make  the 
poor  rich,  the  unhappy  happy,  and  the  unlucky 
lucky.  That  these  various  reputations  arose  in  some 
wells  from  medicinal  qualities  found  by  experience 
to  dwell  in  the  waters,  is  clear  at  a  glance ;  but  in 
many  cases  the  character  of  the  patron  saint  gives 
character  to  the  well.  In  parishes  dedicated  to  the 
Virgin  Mary  there  will  almost  inevitably  be  found  a 
Ffynon  Mair,  (Well  of  Mary,)  the  waters  of  which 
are  supposed  to  be  purer  than  the  waters  of  other 
wells.  Sometimes  the  people  will  take  the  trouble 
to  go  a  long  distance  for  water  from  the  Ffynon 
Mair,  though  a  good  well  may  be  nearer,  in  whose 
water  chemical  analysis  can  find  no  difference.  For- 
merly, and  indeed  until  within  a  few  years  past,  no 
water  would  do  for  baptizing  but  that  fetched  from 
the  Ffynon  Mair,  though  it  were  a  mile  or  more 
from  the  church.  That  the  water  flowed  southward 
was  in  some  cases  held  to  be  a  secret  of  its  virtue. 
In  other  instances,  wells  which  opened  and  flowed 
eastward  were  thought  to  afford  the  purest  water. 

II. 

Most  renowned  and  most  frequented  of  Welsh 
wells  is  St.  Winifred's,  at  Holywell.  By  the  testi- 
mony of  tradition  it  has  been  flowing  for  eleven 
hundred  and  eighty  years,  or  since  the  year  700,  and 
during  all  this  time  has  been  constantly  visited  by 
throngs  of  invalids ;  and  that  it  will  continue  to  be 
so  frequented  for  a  thousand  years  to  come  is  not 
doubted,  apparently,  by  the  members  of  the  Holy- 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones y  and  Dragons.         347 


well  Local  Board,  who  have  just  taken  a  lease  of 
the  well  from  the  Duke  of  Westminster  for  999 
years  more,  at  an  annual  rental  of  ^i.  The  town 
of  Holywell  probably  owes  not  only  name  but  exist- 
ence to  this  well.  Its  miraculous  powers  are  ex- 
tensively believed  in  by  the  Welsh,  and  by  people 
from  all  parts  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States ;  but  Drayton's  assertion  that  no  dog  could 
be  drowned  in  its  waters,  on  account  of  their  bene- 
ficent disposition,  is  not  an  article  of  the  existing 
faith.  The  most  prodigious  fact  in  connection  with 
this  wonderful  fountain,  when  its  legendary  origin  is 
contemplated,  is  its  size,  its  abounding  life,  the  great 
volume  of  its  waters.  A  well  which  discharges 
twenty-one  tons  of  water  per  minute,  which  feeds 
an  artificial  lake  and  runs  a  mill,  and  has  cured  un- 
numbered thousands  of  human  beings  of  their  ills 
for  hundreds  of  years,  is  surely  one  of  the  wonders 
of  the  world,  to  which  even  mystic  legend  can  only 
add  one  marvel  more. 

The  legend  of  St.  Winifred,  or  Gwenfrewi,  as 
she  is  called  in  Welsh,  was  related  by  the  British 
monk  Elerius  in  the  year  660,  or  by  Robert  of 
Salop  in  11 90,  and  is  in  the  Cotton  MSS.  in  the 
British  Museum.  It  is  there  written  in  characters  con- 
sidered to  be  of  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century. 
Winifred  was  the  daughter  of  a  valiant  soldier  in 
North  Wales  ;  from  her  youth  she  loved  a  heavenly 
spouse,  and  refused  transitory  men.  One  day  Cara- 
doc,  a  descendant  of  royal  stock,  came  to  her  house 
fatigued  from  hunting  wild  beasts,  and  asked  Wini- 
fred for  drink.  But  seeing  the  beauty  of  the  nymph 
he  forgot  his  thirst  in  his  admiration,  and  at  once 
besought  her  to  treat  him  with  the  familiarity  of  a 
sweetheart.  Winifred  refused,  asserting  that  she 
was  engaged  to  be  married  to  another.     Caradoc 


34^  British  Goblins, 


became  furious  at  this,  and  said,  '  Leave  off  this 
foolish,  frivolous,  and  trifling  mode  of  speaking,  and 
consent  to  my  wish.'  Then  he  asked  her  to  be  his 
wife.  Finding  he  would  not  be  denied,  Winifred 
had  recourse  to  a  stratagem  to  escape  from  him  : 
she  pretended  to  comply,  but  asked  leave  to  first 
make  a  becoming  toilet.  Caradoc  agreed,  on  con- 
dition that  she  should  make  it  quickly.  The  girl 
went  through  her  chamber  with  swift  feet  into  the 
valley,  and  was  escaping,  when  Caradoc  perceived 
the  trick,  and  mounting  his  horse  spurred  after  her. 
He  overtook  her  at  the  very  door  of  the  monastery 
to  which  she  was  fleeing ;  before  she  could  place 
her  foot  within  the  threshold  he  struck  off  her  head 
at  one  blow.  St.  Beino  coming  quickly  to  the  door 
saw  bloody  Caradoc  standing  with  his  stained  sword 
in  his  hand,  and  immediately  cursed  him  as  he  stood, 
so  that  the  bloody  man  melted  in  his  sight  like  wax 
before  a  fire.  Beino  then  took  the  virgin's  head 
(which  had  been  thrown  inside  the  door  by  the  blow 
which  severed  it)  and  fitted  it  on  the  neck  of  the 
corpse.  Winifred  thereupon  revived,  with  no  further 
harm  than  a  small  line  on  her  neck.  But  the  floor 
upon  which  her  bloody  head  had  fallen,  cracked 
open,  and  a  fountain  sprang  up  like  a  torrent  at  the 
spot.  *  And  the  stones  appear  bloody  at  present 
as  they  did  at  first,  and  the  moss  smells  as  frankin- 
cense, and  it  cures  divers  diseases.'  ^  Thus  far  the 
monastic  legend.  Some  say  that  Caradoc's  de- 
scendants were  doomed  to  bark  like  dogs. 

Among  the  miracles  related  of  Winifred's  well 
by  her  monkish  biographer  is  one  characterized  as 
'  stupendous,'  concerning  three  bright  stones  which 
were  seen  in  the  middle  of  the  ebullition  of  the 
fountain,  ascending  and  descending,  '  up  and  down 

^  '  Cambro- British  Saints,'  519. 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         349 

by  turns,  after  the  manner  of  stones  projected  by 
a  shooter/  They  so  continued  to  dance  for  many 
years,  but  one  day  an  unlucky  woman  was  seized 
with  a  desire  to  play  with  the  stones.  So  she  took 
hold  of  one ;  whereat  they  all  vanished,  and  the 
woman  died.  This  miracle  was  supplemented  by 
that  of  a  man  who  was  rebuked  for  theft  at  the 
fountain ;  and  on  his  denying  his  guilt,  the  goat 
which  he  had  stolen  and  eaten  became  his  accuser 
by  uttering  an  audible  bleating  from  his  belly.  But 
the  miracles  of  Winifred's  well  are  for  the  most  part 
records  of  wonderful  cures  from  disease  and  de- 
formity. Withered  and  useless  limbs  were  made 
whole  and  useful ;  the  dumb  bathed  in  the  water, 
came  out,  and  asked  for  their  clothes  ;  the  blind 
washed  and  received  their  sight ;  lunatics  '  troubled 
by  unclean  spirits '  were  brought  to  the  well  in 
chains,  '  tearing  with  their  teeth  and  speaking  vain 
things,'  but  returned  homeward  in  full  possession  of 
their  reason.  Fevers,  paralysis,  epilepsy,  stone, 
gout,  cancers,  piles — these  are  but  a  few  of  the 
diseases  cured  by  the  marvellous  well,  on  the  testi- 
mony of  the  ancient  chronicler  of  the  Cotton  MSS. 
'Nor  is  it  to  be  hidden  in  the  silence  of  Lethean 
oblivion  that  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Franks  from 
all  North  Wales  '  the  fountain  flowed  with  a  milky 
liquor  for  the  space  of  three  days.  A  priest  bottled 
some  of  it,  and  it  'was  carried  about  and  drunk  in 
all  directions,'  curing  diseases  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  well  itself. 

III. 

Only  second  in  fame  to  Winifred's,  among  the 
Welsh  themselves,  is  St.  Tecla's  well,  or  Ffynon 
Tegla,  in  Denbighshire.  It  springs  out  of  a  bog 
called  Gwern  Degla,  about  two  hundred  yards  from 
the  parish  church  of  Llandegla.     Some  account  of 


33 o  nritish  Goohns. 


the  peculiar  superstitious  ceremony  connected  with 
this  well  has  already  been  given,  in  the  chapter 
treating  of  the  sin-eater.  It  is  there  suggested  that 
the  cock  to  which  the  fits  are  transferred  by  the 
patient  at  the  well  is  a  substitute  for  the  scapegoat 
of  the  Jews.  The  parish  clerk  of  Llandegla  in 
1855  said  that  an  old  man  of  his  acquaintance 
'  remembered  quite  well  seeing  the  birds  staggering 
about  from  the  effects  of  the  fits '  which  had  been 
transferred  to  them. 

IV. 

Of  great  celebrity  in  other  days  was  St.  Dwyn- 
wen's  well,  in  the  parish  of  Llandwyn,  Anglesea. 
This  saint  being  patron  saint  of  lovers,  her  well 
possessed  the  property  of  curing  love-sickness.  It 
was  visited  by  great  numbers,  of  both  sexes,  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  when  the  popular  faith  in  its 
waters  seems  to  have  been  at  its  strongest.  It  is 
still  frequented  by  young  women  of  that  part  of  the 
country  when  suffering  from  the  woes  inflicted  by 
Dan  Cupid.  That  the  well  itself  has  been  for  many 
years  covered  over  with  sand  does  not  prevent  the 
faithful  from  displaying  their  devotion  ;  they  seek 
their  cure  from  '  the  water  next  to  the  well.'  Ffynon 
Dwynwen,  or  Fountain  of  Venus,  was  also  a  name 
given  to  the  sea,  according  to  the  lolo  MSS. ;  and 
in  the  legend  of  Seithenhin  the  Drunkard,  in  the 
*  Black  Book  of  Carmarthen,'  this  stanza  occurs  : 

Accursed  be  the  damsel, 

Who,  after  the  wailing, 

Let  loose  the  Fountain  of  Venus,  the  raging  deep.^ 


^  '  Black  Book  of  Carmarthen,'  xxxviii.  (An  ancient  MS.  in 
Hengwrt  collection,  which  belonged  of  old  to  the  priory  of  Black  Canons 
at  Carmarthen,  and  at  the  dissolution  of  the  religious  houses  in 
Wales,  when  their  libraries  were  dispersed,  was  given  by  the  treasurer 
of  St.  David's  Church  to  Sir  John  Price,  one  of  Henry  VII I. 's 
commissioners.) 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         351 

The  story  of  Aphrodite,  born  from  the  foam  of  the 
sea,  need  only  be  alluded  to  here. 

V. 

Several  wells  appear  to  have  been  devoted  to  the 
cure  of  the  lower  animals'  diseases.  Such  was  the 
well  of  Cynfran,  where  this  ejaculation  was  made 
use  of:  '  Rhad  Duw  a  Chynfran  Iwydd  ar  y  da!' 
— (the  grace  of  God  and  the  blessed  Cynfran  on  the 
cattle.)  This  Cynfran  was  one  of  the  many  sons 
of  the  patriarch  Brychan,  and  his  well  is  near 
Abergeleu.  Pennant  speaks  also  of  a  well  near 
Abergeleu,  which  he  calls  St.  George's  well,  and 
says  that  there  the  British  Mars  had  his  offering 
of  horses ;  *  for  the  rich  were  wont  to  offer  one,  to 
secure  his  blessing  on  all  the  rest  He  was  the 
tutelar  saint  of  those  animals.' 

vi. 

St.  Cynhafal's  well,  on  a  hillside  in  Llangynhafal 
parish,  Denbighshire,  is  one  of  those  curing  wells  in 
which  pins  are  thrown.  Its  specialty  is  warts.  To 
exorcise  your  wart  you  stick  a  pin  in  it  and  then 
throw  the  pin  into  this  well ;  the  wart  soon  vanishes. 
The  wart  is  a  form  of  human  trouble  which  appears 
to  have  been  at  all  times  and  in  all  countries  a 
special  subject  of  charms,  both  in  connection  with 
wells  and  with  pins.  Where  a  well  of  the  requisite 
virtue  is  not  conveniently  near,  the  favourite  form 
of  charm  for  wart-curing  is  in  connection  with  the 
wasting  away  of  some  selected  object.  Having 
first  been  pricked  into  the  wart,  the  pin  is  then 
thrust  into  the  selected  object — in  Gloucestershire 
it  is  a  snail — and  then  the  object  is  buried  or  im- 
paled on  a  blackthorn  in  a  hedge,  and  as  it  perishes 
the  wart  will  disappear.     The  scapegoat  principle 


352  British  Goblins. 


of   the  sin-eater   also   appears   in    connection  with  j 

charming  away  warts,  as  where  a   '  vagrom  man '  .; 

counts  your  warts,  marks  their  number  in  his  hat,  ;^ 

and  goes  away,  taking  the  warts  with  him  into  the  \ 


next  county — for  a  trifling  consideration.^ 

VII 

On  Barry  Island,  near  Cardiff,  is  the  famous  we 
of  St.  Barruc,  or  Barri,  which  was  still  frequented 
by  the  credulous  up  to  May,  1879,  at  which  time 
the  island  was  closed  against  visitors  by  its  owner, 
'Lord  Windsor,  and  converted  into  a  rabbit  warren. 
Tradition  directs  that  on  Holy  Thursday  he  who 
is  troubled  with  any  disease  of  the  eyes  shall  go 
to  this  well,  and  having  thoroughly  washed  his  eyes 
in  its  water,  shall  drop  a  pin  in  it.  The  innkeeper 
there  formerly  found  great  numbers  of  pins — a  pint, 
in  one  instance — when  cleaning  out  the  well.  It 
had  long  been  utterly  neglected  by  the  sole  resident 
of  the  island,  whose  house  was  a  long  distance  from 
the  well,  at  a  point  nearer  the  main  land ;  but  pins 
were  still  discovered  there  from  time  to  time.  There 
was  in  old  days  a  chapel  on  this  island ;  no  vestige 
of  it  remains.  Tradition  says  that  St.  Barruc  was 
buried  there,  and  the  now  barren  and  deserted  islet 
appears  to  have  been  anciently  a  popular  place 
among  the  saints.  St.  Cadoc  had  one  of  his  resi- 
dences there.'^  He  was  one  day  sitting  on  a  hill-top 
in  that  island  when  he  saw  the  two  saints  Barruc 
and  Gwalches  drawing  near  in  a  boat,  and  as  he 
looked  the  boat  was  overturned  by  the  wind.     Both 

*  A  popular  belief  among  boys  in  some  parts  of  the  United  States  is 
that  warts  can  be  rubbed  off  upon  a  toad  impaled  with  a  sharp  stick ; 
as  the  toad  dies  the  warts  will  go.  Per  contra^  this  cruel  faith  is  offset 
by  a  theory  that  toads  if  ill-treated  can  spit  upon  their  aggressors' 
hands  and  thus  cause  warts. 

2  '  Cambro-British  Saints,'  336. 


W\ 


Bells  J    Wells,  Stones  ^  and  Dragons.         ^iSTi 

saints  were  drowned,  and  Cadoc's  manual  book, 
which  they  had  in  the  boat  with  them,  was  lost  in 
the  sea.  But  when  Cadoc  proceeded  to  order  his 
dinner,  a  salmon  was  brought  to  him  which  being 
cut  open  was  found  to  have  the  missing  manual 
book  in  its  belly  in  an  unimpaired  condition.  Con- 
cerning another  saint  whose  name  was  Barri,  a 
wonderful  story  is  told  that  one  day  being  on  a  visit 
to  St.  David  he  borrowed  the  latter's  horse  and 
rode  across  the  sea  from  Pembrokeshire  to  the  Irish 
coast.  Many  have  supposed  this  Barri  to  be  the 
same  person  as  Barruc,  but  they  were  two  men. 

This  romantic  island  was  anciently  celebrated  for 
certain  ghastly  noises  which  were  heard  in  it — 
sounds  resembling  the  clanking  of  chains,  hammer- 
ing of  iron,  and  blowing  of  bellows — and  which  were 
supposed  to  be  made  by  the  fiends  whom  Merlin 
had  set  to  work  to  frame  the  wall  of  brass  to  sur- 
round Carmarthen.  So  the  noises  and  eruptions 
of  Etna  and  Stromboli  were  in  ancient  times 
ascribed  to  Typhon  or  Vulcan.  But  in  the  case 
of  Barry  I  have  been  unable,  by  any  assistance  from 
imagination,  to  detect  these  mystic  sounds  in  our 
day,  Camden,  in  his  '  Britannica,'  makes  a  like 
remark,  but  says  the  tradition  was  universally  pre- 
valent. The  judicious  Malkin,  however,  thinks  it 
requires  but  a  moderate  stretch  of  fancy  to  create 
this  Cyclopean  imagery,  when  the  sea  at  high  tides 
is  often  in  possession  of  cavities  under  the  very  feet 
of  the  stranger,  and  its  voice  is  at  once  modified  and 
magnified  by  confinement  and  repercussion,^ 

VIII. 

Another  well  whose  specialty  is  warts  is  a  small 
spring   called    Ffynon    Gwynwy,   near    Llangelynin 

1  Malkin's  '  South  Wales,'  132. 


354  Dvitish  Goblins. 


church,  Carnarvonshire.  The  pins  used  here  must 
be  crooked  in  order  to  be  efficacious.  It  is  said 
that  fifty  years  ago  the  bottom  of  this  Httle  well  was 
covered  with  pins  ;  and  that  everybody  was  careful 
not  to  touch  them,  fearing  that  the  warts  deposited 
with  the  pins  would  grow  upon  their  own  hands 
if  they  did  so.^  At  present  the  well  is  overgrown 
with  weeds,  like  that  on  Barry  Island. 

IX. 

The  use  of  pins  for  purposes  of  enchantment  is 
one  of  the  most  curious  features  of  popular  super- 
stition. Trivial  as  it  appears  to  superficial  observa- 
tion, it  can  be  associated  with  a  vast  number  of 
mystic  rites  and  ceremonials,  and  with  times  the 
most  ancient.  There  is  no  doubt  that  before  the 
invention  of  pins  in  this  country  small  pieces  of 
money  were  thrown  into  the  well  instead  ;  indeed 
it  was  asserted  by  a  writer  in  the  '  Archaeologia 
Cambrensis'  in  1856  that  money  was  still  thrown 
into  St.  Tecla's  well,  by  persons  desirous  of  re- 
covering from  fits.  That  the  same  practice  pre- 
vailed among  the  Romans  is  shown  by  Pliny,  who 
speaks  of  the  sacred  spring  of  the  Clitumnus,  so 
pure  and  clear  that  you  may  count  the  pieces  of 
money  that  have  been  thrown  into  it,  and  the 
shining  pebbles  at  the  bottom.  And  in  connection 
with  the  Welsh  well  of  St.  Elian  there  was  for- 
merly a  box  into  which  the  sick  dropped  money  as 
they  nowadays  drop  a  pin  into  that  well.  This  box 
was  called  cyff-elian,  and  was  in  the  form  of  a  trunk 
studded  with  nails,  with  an  aperture  in  the  top 
through  which  the  money  was  dropped.  It  is  said 
to  have  got  so  full  of  coins  that  the  parishioners 
opened  it,  and  with  the  contents  purchased  three 

^  *  Arch.  Camb.,*  3rd  Se.,  xiii.,  61. 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         355 

farms.  The  presentation  of  pins  to  the  well,  though 
now  a  meaningless  rite  on  the  part  of  those  who 
practice  it,  was  originally  intended  as  a  propitiatory 
offering  to  the  evil  spirit  of  the  well.  In  some 
instances  the  heathen  faith  is  virtually  restored,  and 
the  well  endowed  with  supernatural  powers  irre- 
spective of  the  dedication  of  its  waters  to  a  Christian 
saint.  Indeed  in  the  majority  of  cases  where  these 
wells  are  now  resorted  to  by  the  peasantry  for  any 
other  than  curative  purposes,  the  fetichistic  impulse 
is  much  more  conspicuous  than  any  influence  as- 
sociated with  religious  teaching. 

X. 

St.  Elian's  is  accounted  the  most  dreadful  well 
in  Wales.  It  is  in  the  parish  of  Llanelian,  Den- 
bighshire. It  is  at  the  head  of  the  cursing  wells, 
of  which  there  are  but  few  in  the  Principality,  and 
holds  still  a  strong  influence  over  the  ignorant  mind. 
The  popular  belief  is  that  you  can  '  put '  your  enemy 
*  into '  this  well,  i.e.,  render  him  subject  to  its  evil 
influence,  so  that  he  will  pine  away  and  perhaps  die 
unless  the  curse  be  removed.  The  degree  and 
nature  of  the  curse  can  be  modified  as  the  '  offerer ' 
desires,  so  that  the  obnoxious  person  will  suffer 
aches  and  pains  in  his  body,  or  troubles  in  his 
pocket — the  slings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune. 
The  minister  of  the  well  appears  to  be  some  heart- 
less wretch  residing  in  the  neighbourhood,  whose 
services  are  enlisted  for  a  small  fee.  The  name  of 
the  person  to  be  '  put  into  '  the  well  is  registered 
in  a  book  kept  by  the  wretch  aforesaid,  and  a  pin 
is  cast  into  the  well  in  his  name,  together  with  a 
pebble  inscribed  with  its  initials.  The  person  so 
cursed  soon  hears  of  it,  and  the  fact  preys  on  his 
mind ;  he  imagines  for  himself  every  conceivable  ill, 

2   A 


35^  ""****"       British  Goblins. 


and  if  gifted  with  a  lively  faith  soon  finds  himself  re- 
duced to  a  condition  where  he  cannot  rest  till  he  has 
secured  the  removal  of  the  curse.  This  is  effected 
by  a  reversal  of  the  above  ceremonies — erasing  the 
name,  taking  out  the  pebble,  and  otherwise  ap- 
peasing the  spirit  of  the  well.  It  is  asserted  that 
death  has  in  many  instances  resulted  from  the  curse 
of  this  wickedly  malicious  well.^ 


XL 

Occasionally  the  cursing  powers  of  a  well  were 
synonymous  with  curing  powers.  Thus  a  well 
much  resorted  to  near  Penrhos,  was  able  to  curse  a 
cancer,  i.e.,  cure  it.  The  sufferer  washed  in  the  water, 
uttering  curses  upon  the  disease,  and  also  dropping 
pins  around  the  well.  This  well  has  been  drained 
by  the  unsympathizing  farmer  on  whose  land  it  was, 
on  account  of  the  serious  damage  done  to  his  crops  , 
by  trespassers.  j 

XII.  I 

Wells  from  which   milk   has   flowed   have   been    ' 
known    in    several    places.      That   Winifred's   well 
indulged   in   this  eccentricity  on  one  occasion  has 
been  noted.     The  well  of  St.    Illtyd  is  celebrated 
for   the   like   performance.      This  well   is   in    Gla- 
morganshire, in  the  land  called  Gower,  near  Swan-  I 
sea.     It  was  about  the  nativity  of  John  the  Baptist,    ' 
on  the  fifth  day  of  the  week,  in  a  year  not  speci- 
fied, but  certainly  very  remote,  that  for  three  hours  | 
there    flowed    from    this    well    a    copious    stream   f 
of  milk  instead  of  water.     That  it  was  really  milk  j 
we  are  not  left  in  any  possible  doubt,  for   'many  . 
who  were  present   testified   that  while   they  were 
looking    at    the    milky   stream    carefully   and   with 
astonishment,    they    also    saw    among    the    gravel 

^  *  Camb.  Pop.  Ant.,'  247.     See  also  '  Arch.  Camb.,'  ist  Se.,  i.  46. 


i 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         357 

curds  lying  about  in  every  direction,  and  all  around 
the  edge  of  the  well  a  certain  fatty  substance  floating 
about,  such  as  is  collected  from  milk,  so  that  butter 
can  be  made  from  it.'  ^ 

The  origin  of  this  well  is  a  pleasing  miracle,  and 
recalls  the  story  of  Canute ;  but  while  Canute's 
effort  to  command  the  sea  was  a  failure  in  the 
eleventh  century,  that  of  St.  Illtyd  five  hundred 
years  earlier  was  a  brilliant  success.  It  appears 
that  the  saint  was  very  pleasantly  established  on 
an  estate  consisting  of  a  field  surrounded  on  all 
sides  by  plains,  with  an  intermediate  grove,  but  was 
much  afflicted  by  the  frequent  overflowings  of  the 
sea  upon  his  land.  In  vain  he  built  and  rebuilt  a 
very  large  embankment  of  mud  mixed  with  stones, 
the  rushing  waves  burst  through  again  and  again. 
At  last  the  saint's  patience  was  worn  out,  and  he 
said,  '  I  will  not  live  here  any  longer ;  I  much  wished 
it,  but  troubled  with  this  marine  molestation,  it  is 
not  in  my  power.  It  destroys  my  buildings,  it  flows 
to  the  oratory  which  we  built  with  great  labour.' 
However,  the  place  was  so  convenient  he  was  loth 
to  leave  it,  and  he  prayed  for  assistance.  On  the 
night  before  his  intended  departure  an  angel  came 
to  him  and  bade  him  remain,  and  gave  him  instruc- 
tions for  driving  back  the  sea.  Early  in  the  morning 
Illtyd  went  to  the  fluctuating  sea  and  drove  it  back  ; 
it  receded  before  him  '  as  if  it  were  a  sensible  animal,' 
and  left  the  shore  dry.  Then  Illtyd  struck  the 
shore  with  his  staff",  *  and  thereupon  flowed  a  very 
clear  fountain,  which  is  also  beneficial  for  curing 
diseases,  and  which  continues  to  flow  without  a 
falling  off;  and  what  is  more  wonderful,  although  it 
is  near  the  sea,  the  water  emitted  is  pure.'^ 


'Arch.  Camb.,'  ist  Se.,  iii.,  264. 
'■  Cambro-British  Saints,'  478. 


2    A    2 


358  British  Goblins. 


XIII. 

Some  of  the  Welsh  mystic  wells  are  so  situated 
that  they  are  at  times  overflowed  by  the  waters  of 
the  sea,  or  of  a  river.  Taffs  well,  in  Glamorgan- 
shire, a  pleasant  walk  from  Cardiff,  is  situated  practi- 
cally in  the  bed  of  the  river  Taff.  One  must  wade 
through  running  water  to  reach  it,  except  in  the 
summer  season,  when  the  water  in  the  river  is  very 
low.  A  rude  hut  of  sheet  iron  has  been  built  over 
it.  This  well  is  still  noted  for  its  merits  in  healing 
rheumatism  and  kindred  ailments.  The  usual  stories 
are  told  of  miraculous  cures.  A  primitive  custom  of 
the  place  is  that  when  men  are  bathing  at  this  well 
they  shall  hang  a  pair  of  trousers  outside  the  hut ; 
women,  in  their  turn,  must  hang  out  a  petticoat  or 
bonnet. 

At  Newton  Nottage,  Glamorganshire,  a  holy  well 
called  Sanford's  is  so  situated  that  the  water  is 
regulated  in  the  well  by  the  ocean  tides.  From 
time  immemorial  wondrous  tales  have  been  told  of 
this  well,  how  it  ebbs  and  flows  daily  in  direct 
contrariety  to  the  tidal  ebb  and  flow.  The  bottom 
of  the  well  is  below  high-water  mark  on  the  beach, 
where  It  has  an  outlet  into  the  sea.  At  very  low 
tides  in  the  summer,  when  the  supply  of  water  in 
the  well  Is  scanty,  It  becomes  dry  for  an  hour  or 
two  after  low  water.  When  the  ocean  tide  rises, 
the  sea-water  banks  up  and  drives  back  the  fresh 
water,  and  the  well  fills  again  and  its  water  rises. 
The  villagers  are  accustomed  to  let  the  well-water 
rise  through  what  they  call  the  '  nostrils  of  the  well,' 
and  become  settled  a  little  before  they  draw  it.  Of 
course  this  phenomenon  has  been  regarded  as  some- 
thing supernatural  by  the  Ignorant  for  ages,  and 
upon  the  actual  visible  phenomena  have  been  built 


I 


^ll 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons,         359 

a  number  of  magical  details  of  a  superstitious  cha- 
racter. 

XIV. 

The  wide  prevalence  of  some  form  of  water- 
worship  among  Aryan  peoples  is  a  fact  of  great 
significance.  Superstitions  in  connection  with  British 
wells  are  generally  traceable  to  a  Druidic  origin. 
The  worship  of  natural  objects  in  which  the  British 
Druids  indulged,  particularly  as  regards  rivers 
and  fountains,  probably  had  a  connection  with 
traditions  of  the  flood.  When  the  early  Christian 
preachers  and  teachers  encountered  such  super- 
stitions among  the  people,  they  carefully  avoided 
giving  unnecessary  offence  by  scoffing  at  them  ;  on 
the  contrary  they  preferred  to  adopt  them,  and  to 
hallow  them  by  giving  them  Christian  meanings. 
They  utilized  the  old  Druidic  circles  as  places  of 
worship,  chose  young  priests  from  among  the  edu- 
cated Druids,  and  consecrated  to  their  own  saints 
the  mystic  wells  and  fountains.  In  this  manner 
were  continued  practices  the  most  ancient.  As 
time  passed  on,  other  wells  were  similarly  sanctified, 
as  the  new  religion  spread  and  parish  churches  were 
built.  Disease  and  wickedness  being  intimately 
associated  in  the  popular  mind — epileptics  and  like 
sufferers  being  held  to  be  possessed  of  devils,  and 
even  such  vulgar  ills  as  warts  and  wens  being 
considered  direct  results  of  some  evil  deed,  suffered 
or  performed — so  the  waters  of  Christian  baptism 
which  cleansed  from  sin,  cleansed  also  from  disease. 
Ultimately  the  virtue  of  the  waters  came  to  be 
among  the  vulgar  a  thing  apart  from  the  rite  of 
baptism  ;  the  good  was  looked  upon  as  dwelling  in 
the  waters  themselves,  and  the  Christian  rite  as  not 
necessarily  an  element  in  the  work  of  regeneration. 
The  reader  who  will  recall  what  has  been  said  in 


360 


British  Goblins. 


the  chapter  on  changelings,  in  the  first  part  of  this 
volume,  will  perceive  a  survival  of  the  ancient  creed 
herein,  in  the  notion  that  baptism  is  a  preventive  of 
fairy  babe-thievery.  Remembering  that  the  change- 
ling notion  is  in  reality  nothing  but  a  fanciful  way 
of  accounting  for  the  emaciation,  ugliness,  idiocy, 
bad  temper— in  a  word,  the  illness — of  the  child,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  rite  of  baptism,  by  curing  the 
first  manifestations  of  evil  in  the  child's  system, 
was  the  orthodox  means  of  preventing  the  fairies 
from  working  their  bad  will  on  the  poor  innocent. 


4 


(     36i     ) 


CHAPTER  III. 

Personal  Attributes  of  Legendary  Welsh  Stones — Stone  Worship — 
Canna's  Stone  Chair — Miraculous  Removals  of  Stones — The  Walk- 
ing Stone  of  Eitheinn — The  Thigh  Stone — The  Talking  Stone  in 
Pembrokeshire — The  Expanding  Stone — Magic  Stones  in  the 
'Mabinogion' — The  Stone  of  InvisibiHty — The  Stone  of  Remem- 
brance—Stone Thief-catchers — Stones  of  Healing — Stones  at  Cross 
Roads — Memorials  of  King  Arthur— Round  Tables,  Cams,  Pots, 
etc. — Arthur's  Quoits— The  Gigantic  Rock-tossers  of  Old — Mol 
Walbec  and  the  Pebble  in  her  Shoe — The  Giant  of  Trichrug— 
Giants  and  the  Mythology  of  the  Heavens — The  Legend  of  Rhitta 
Gawr. 

L 

In  the  traditions  concerning  Welsh  stones,  abundant 
personal  attributes  are  accorded  them,  such  as  in 
nature  belong  only  to  animals.  They  were  endowed 
with  volition  and  with  voice  ;  they  could  travel  from 
place  to  place  without  mortal  aid  ;  they  would  move 
uneasily  when  disturbed  by  human  contact ;  they 
expanded  and  contracted  at  will ;  they  clung  to 
people  who  touched  them  with  profane  or  guilty 
purpose  ;  they  possessed  divers  qualities  which  made 
them  valuable  to  their  possessors,  such  as  the  power 
of  rendering  them  invisible,  or  of  filling  their  pockets 
with  gold.  In  pursuing  the  various  accounts  of  these 
stones  in  Welsh  folk-lore  we  find  ourselves  now  in 
fairy-land,  now  in  the  domains  of  mother  church, 
now  listening  to  legends  of  enchantment,  now  to 
tales  of  saintly  virtue,  now  giving  ear  to  a  magician, 
now  to  a  monk.  Stone-worship,  of  which  the  exist- 
ing superstitions  are  remains,  was  so  prevalent  under 
the  Saxon  monarchy,  that  it  was  forbidden  by  law  in 
the  reign  of  Edgar  the  Peaceable,  (ninth  century,) 


362  British  Goblins. 


I 


and  when  Canute  came,  in  the  following  century,  he 
also  found  it  advisable  to  issue  such  a  law.  That 
this  pagan  worship  was  practised  from  a  time  of 
which  there  is  now  no  record,  is  not  questioned ; 
and  the  perpetuation  of  certain  features  of  this  wor-  \ 
ship  by  the  early  Christians  was  in  spite  of  the  laws  \ 
promulgated  for  its  suppression  by  a  Christian  king. 
In  this  manner  the  monks  were  enabled  to  draw  to 
themselves  the  peasantry  in  whose  breasts  the  an- 
cient superstition  was  strong,  and  who  willingly  sub- 
stituted the  new  story  for  the  old,  so  long  as  the 
underlying  belief  was  not  rudely  uprooted. 

II. 

Among  the  existing  stones  in  Wales  with  which 
the  ancient  ideas  of  occult  power  are  connected,  one 
in  Carmarthenshire  is  probably  unique  of  its  kind. 
It  is  called  Canna's  Stone,  and  lies  in  a  field  adjoin- 
ing the  old  church  of  Llangan,  now  remote  from  the 
population  whose  ancestors  worshipped  in  it.  TheB 
church  was  founded  by  an  Armorican  lady  of  rank 
named  Canna,  who  was  sainted.  The  stone  in  ques- 
tion forms  a  sort  of  chair,  and  was  used  in  connection 
with  a  magic  well  called  Ffynon  Canna,  which  is 
now,  like  the  church,  deserted  and  wretched.  Patients 
suffering  from  ague,  in  order  to  profit  by  its  healing 
power,  must  sit  in  the  chair  of  Canna's  stone,  after 
drinking  of  the  water.  If  they  could  manage  to 
sleep  while  in  the  chair,  the  effect  of  the  water  was 
supposed  to  be  made  sure.  The  process  was  con- 
tinued for  some  days,  sometimes  for  two  or  three 
weeks. 

In  the  middle  of  this  parish  there  is  a  field  called 
Pare  y  Fonwent,  or  the  churchyard-field,  where, 
according  to  local  tradition,  the  church  was  to  have 
been  originally  built ;  but  the  stones  brought  to  the 


Bells,    Wells ^  Stones^  and  Dragons.         363 

spot  during  the  day  were  at  night  removed  by  invisible 
hands  to  the  site  of  the  present  church.  Watchers 
in  the  dark  heard  the  goblins  engaged  in  this  work, 
and  pronouncing  in  clear  and  correct  Welsh  these 
words,  '  Llangan,  dyma  r  fan,'  which  mean,  '  Llangan, 
here  is  the  spot.' 

Similar  miraculous  removals  of  stones  are  reported 
and  believed  in  other  parts  of  Wales.  Sometimes 
visible  goblins  achieve  the  work ;  sometimes  the 
stones  themselves  possess  the  power  of  locomotion. 
The  old  British  historian  Nennius^  speaks  of  a  stone, 
one  of  the  wonders  of  the  Isle  of  Anglesea,  which 
walks  during  the  night  in  the  valley  of  Eitheinn. 
Being  once  thrown  into  the  whirlpool  Cerevus,  which 
is  in  the  middle  of  the  sea  called  Menai,  it  was  on 
the  morrow  found  on  the  side  of  the  aforesaid  valley. 
Also  in  Builth  is  a  heap  of  stones,  upon  which  is 
one  stone  bearing  the  impress  of  a  dog's  foot.  This 
was  the  famous  dog  of  King  Arthur,  named  Cabal, 
which  left  its  footprint  on  this  stone  when  it  hunted 
the  swine  Troynt.  Arthur  himself  gathered  this 
heap  of  stones,  with  the  magic  stone  upon  it,  and 
called  it  Carn  Cabal  ;  and  people  who  take  away 
this  stone  in  their  hands  for  the  space  of  a  day  and 
a  night  cannot  retain  it,  for  it  returns  itself  to  the 
heap.  The  Anglesea  stone  is  also  mentioned  by 
Giraldus,  through  whom  it  achieved  celebrity  under 
the  name  of  Maen  Morddwyd,  or  the  Thigh  Stone 
— 'a  stone  resembling  a  human  thigh,  which  pos- 
sesses this  innate  virtue,  that  whatever  distance  it 
may  be  carried  it  returns  of  its  own  accord  the  fol- 
lowing night.  Hugh,  Earl  of  Chester,  in  the  reign 
of  King  Henry  I.,  having  by  force  occupied  this 
island  and  the  adjacent  country,  heard  of  the  mira- 
culous power  of  this  stone,  and  for  the  purpose  of 

I  Harleian  MSS.,  3859. 


I 


364  British  Gobli^is. 

trial  ordered  it  to  be  fastened  with  strong  iron  chains 
to  one  of  a  larger  size  and  to  be  thrown  into  the  sea  ; 
on  the  following  morning,  however,  according  to 
custom,  it  was  found  in  its  original  position,  on  which 
account  the  Earl  issued  a  public  edict  that  no  one 
from  that  time  should  presume  to  move  the  stone 
from  its  place.  A  countryman  also,  to  try  the  powers 
of  this  stone,  fastened  it  to  his  thigh,  which  imme- 
diately became  putrid,  and  the  stone  returned  to  its 
original  situation/  ^  This  stone  ultimately  lost  its 
virtues,  however,  for  it  was  stolen  in  the  last 
century  and  never  came  back. 

III. 

The  Talking  Stone  Llechlafar,  or  stone  of  lo- 
quacity, served  as  a  bridge  over  the  river  Alyn, 
bounding  the  churchyard  of  St.  Davids  in  Pem- 
brokeshire, on  the  northern  side.  It  was  a  marble 
slab  worn  smooth  by  the  tread  of  many  feet,  and 
was  ten  feet  long,  six  feet  broad,  and  one  foot  thick. 
Ancient  tradition  relates  that  one  day  '  when  a  corpse 
was  being  carried  over  it  for  interment  the  stone 
broke  forth  into  speech,  and  by  the  effort  cracked 
in  the  middle,  which  fissure  is  still  visible ;  and  on 
account  of  this  barbarous  and  ancient  superstition 
the  corpses  are  no  longer  brought  over  it.'  ^ 

In  this  same  parish  of  St.  David's,  there  was  a 
flight  of  steps  leading  down  to  the  sea,  among  which 
were  a  certain  few  which  uttered  a  miraculous  sound, 
like  the  ringing  of  a  bell.  The  story  goes  that  in 
ancient  times  a  band  of  pirates  landed  there  and 
robbed  the  chapel.  The  bell  they  took  away  to 
sea  with  them,  but  as  it  was  heavy  they  rested  it 
several  times  on  their  way,  and  ever  since  that  day 

^  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare's  Giraldus,  '  Itin.  Camb.,'  ii.,  104. 
^  Ibid.,  ii.,  8. 


% 


Bells,    We  lis  ^  Stones,  and  Dragons.         2>^^ 

the  stones  it  rested  upon  have  uttered  these  mys- 
terious sounds  when  struck. 

Also  in  this  parish  is  the  renowned  Expanding 
Stone,  an  excavation  in  the  rock  of  St.  Gowan's 
chapel,  which  has  the  magic  property  of  adapting 
itself  to  the  size  of  the  person  who  gets  into  it, 
growing  smaller  for  a  small  man  and  larger  for  a 
large  one.  Among  its  many  virtues  was  that  if 
a  person  got  into  it  and  made  a  wish,  and  did  not 
change  his  mind  while  turning  about,  the  wish 
would  come  true.  The  original  fable  relates  that 
this  hollow  stone  was  once  solid  ;  that  a  saint 
closely  pursued  by  Pagan  persecutors  sought  shelter 
of  the  rock,  which  thereupon  opened  and  received 
him,  concealing  him  till  the  danger  was  over  and 
then  obligingly  letting  him  out. 

This  stone  may  probably  be  considered  as  the 
monkish  parallel  for  the  magic  stones  which  confer 
on  their  possessor  invisibility,  as  we  find  them  in  the 
romances  of  enchantment.  In  the  '  Mabinogion ' 
such  stones  are  frequently  mentioned,  usually  in  the 
favourite  form  of  a  gem  set  within  a  ring.  '  Take 
this  ring,'  says  the  damsel  with  yellow  curling  hair,^ 
'  and  put  it  on  thy  finger,  with  the  stone  inside  thy 
hand  ;  and  close  thy  hand  upon  the  stone.  And  as 
long  as  thou  concealest  it,  it  will  conceal  thee.*  But 
when  it  is  found,  as  we  find  in  following  these  clues 
further,  that  this  Stone  of  Invisibility  was  one  of 
the  Thirteen  Rarities  of  Kingly  Regalia  of  the 
Island  of  Britain ;  that  it  was  formerly  kept  at 
Caerleon,  in  Monmouthshire,  the  city  whence  St. 
David  journeyed  into  Pembrokeshire  ;  and  that  it 
is  mentioned  in  the  Triads  thus  :  '  The  Stone  of  the 
Ring  of  Luned,  which  liberated  Owen  the  son  of 
Urien   from   between  the  portcullis  and   the  wall  ; 

1  Lady  Charlotte  Guest's  '  Mabinogion,'  13. 


366  British  Goblins, 


whoever  concealed  that  stone  the  stone  or  bezel 
would  conceal  him,'  the  strong  probability  appears 
that  we  are  dealing  with  one  and  the  same  myth 
in  the  tale  of  magic  and  in  the  monkish  legend. 
Traced  back  to  a  period  more  remote  than  that 
with  which  these  Welsh  stories  ostensibly  deal,  we 
should  find  their  prototype  in  the  ring  of  Gyges. 

The  Stone  of  Remembrance  is  another  stone  men- 
tioned in  the  *  Mabinogion,'  also  a  jewel,  endowed 
with  valuable  properties  which  it  imparts  not  merely 
to  its  wearer,  but  to  any  one  who  looks  upon  it. 

*  Rhonabwy,'  says  Iddawc  to  the  enchanted  dreamer 
on  the  yellow  calf-skin,  *  dost  thou  see  the  ring  with 
a  stone  set  in  it,  that  is  upon  the  Emperor's  hand  ?' 

*  I  see  it,'  he  answered.  '  It  is  one  of  the  properties 
of  that  stone  to  enable  thee  to  remember  that  thou 
seest  here  to-night,  and  hadst  thou  not  seen  the 
stone,  thou  wouldst  never  have  been  able  to  re- 
member aught  thereof.'  ^  Still  another  stone  of  rare 
good  qualities  is  that  which  Peredur  gave  to  Etlym, 
in  reward  for  his  attendance,^  the  stone  which  was 
on  the  tail  of  a  serpent,  and  whose  virtues  were  such 
that  whosoever  should  hold  it  in  one  hand,  in  the 
other  he  would  have  as  much  gold  as  he  might 
desire.  Peredur  having  vanquished  the  serpent  and 
possessed  himself  of  the  stone,  immediately  gave  it 
away,  in  that  spirit  of  lavish  free-handedness  which 
so  commonly  characterizes  the  heroes  of  chivalric 
British  romance. 

IV. 

In  the  church  of  St.  David's  of  Llanfaes,  accord- 
ing to  Giraldus,  was  preserved  among  the  relics 
a  stone  which  caught  a  thieving  boy  in  the  act  of 
robbing  a  pigeon's  nest,  and  held  him  fast  for  three 
days  and  nights.  Only  by  assiduous  and  long-con- 
^  Lady  Charlotte  Guest's  '  Mabinogion,'  303,  ^  Ibid.,  iii. 


1 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         ^6^ 

tinued  prayer  were  the  unhappy  boy's  parents  able 
to  get  him  loose  from  the  terrible  stone,  and  the 
marks  of  his  five  fingers  remained  ever  after  im- 
pressed upon  it,  so  that  all  might  see  them.  There 
was  a  stone  of  similar  proclivities  in  the  valley  of 
Mowddwy,  which  did  good  service  for  the  church. 
A  certain  St.  Tydecho,  a  relation  of  King  Arthur, 
who  slept  on  a  blue  rock  in  this  valley,  was  perse- 
cuted by  Maelgwn  Gwynedd.  One  day  this  wicked 
knight  came  with  a  pack  of  white  dogs  to  hunt  in 
that  neighbourhood,  and  sat  down  upon  the  saint  s 
blue  stone.  When  he  endeavoured  to  get  up  he 
found  himself  fastened  to  his  seat  so  that  he  could 
not  stir,  in  a  manner  absurdly  suggestive  of  French 
farces  ;  and  he  was  obliged  to  make  up  matters  with 
the  saint.  He  ceased  to  persecute  the  good  man, 
and  to  make  amends  for  the  past  gave  him  the 
privilege  of  sanctuary  for  a  hundred  ages.^ 

V. 

As  for  Stones  of  Healing,  with  qualities  resembling 
those  abiding  in  certain  wells,  they  appear  in  many 
shapes.  Now  it  is  a  maenhir,  against  which  the 
afflicted  peasant  must  rub  himself ;  now  it  is  a  pebble 
which  he  must  carry  in  his  pocket.  The  inevitable 
wart  reappears  in  this  connection ;  the  stone  which 
cures  the  wart  is  found  by  the  roadside,  wrapped  in 
a  bit  of  paper,  and  dropped  on  a  cross-road ;  to  him 
who  picks  it  up  the  wart  is  transferred.  Children  in 
Pembrokeshire  will  not  at  the  present  day  pick  up  a 
small  parcel  on  a  cross-road,  suspecting  the  presence 
of  the  wart-bearing  stone.  In  Carmarthen  are  still 
to  be  found  traces  of  a  belief  in  the  Alluring  Stone, 
whose  virtue  is  that  it  will  cure  hydrophobia.      It  is 

1  'Celtic  Remains,'  420.  (Printed  for  the  Cambrian  Arch.  Soc, 
London,  1878.) 


368  British  Goblins. 


represented  as  a  soft  white  stone,  about  the  size 
of  a  man's  head,  originally  found  on  a  farm  called 
Dysgwylfa,  about  twelve  miles  from  Carmarthen  town. 
Grains  were  scraped  from  the  stone  with  a  knife, 
and  administered  to  the  person  who  had  been  bitten 
by  a  rabid  dog ;  and  a  peculiarity  of  the  stone  was 
that  though  generation  after  generation  had  scraped 
it,  nevertheless  it  did  not  diminish  in  size.  A  woman 
who  ate  of  this  miraculous  stone,  after  having  been 
bitten  by  a  suspicious  cur,  testified  that  it  caused  '  a 
boiling  in  her  blood.'  The  stone  was  said  to  have 
fallen  from  the  sky  in  the  first  instance. 

VI. 

Stones  standing  at  cross-roads  are  seldom  without 
some  superstitious  legend.  A  peasant  pointed  out 
to  me,  on  a  mountain-top  near  Crumlyn,  Monmouth- 
shire, a  cross-roads  stone,  beneath  which,  he  as- 
serted, a  witch  sleeps  by  day,  coming  forth  at  night. 
*  Least  they  was  say  so,'  he  explained,  with  a  ner- 
vous look  about  him,  '  but  there  you  !  /  was  never 
see  anything,  an'  I  was  pass  by  there  many  nights — 
yes,  indeed,  often.'  The  man's  eagerness  to  testify 
against  the  truth  of  the  tradition  was  one  of  the 
most  impressive  illustrations  possible  of  lingering 
superstitious  awe  in  this  connection. 

A  famous  Welsh  witch,  who  used  to  sleep  under 
a  stone  at  Llanberis,  in  North  Wales,  was  called 
Canrig  Bwt,  and  her  favourite  dish  at  dinner  was 
children's  brains.  A  certain  criminal  who  had  re- 
ceived a  death-sentence  was  given  the  alternative  of 
attacking  this  frightful  creature,  his  life  to  be  spared 
should  he  succeed  in  destroying  her.  Arming  him- 
self with  a  sharp  sword,  the  doomed  man  got  upon 
the  stone  and  called  on  Canrig  to  come  out.  '  Wait 
till  I  have  finished  eating  the  brains  in  this  sweet 


Bells,    Wells,   Sto7ies,  and  Dragons.         369 

little  skull,'  was  her  horrible  answer.  However,  forth 
she  came  presently,  when  the  valiant  man  cut  off 
her  head  at  a  blow.  To  this  day  they  scare  children 
thereabout  with  the  name  of  Canrig  Bwt. 

VII. 

In  every  part  of  Wales  one  encounters  the  ancient 
memorials  of  King  Arthur — sometimes  to  be  dimly 
connected  with  the  historical  character,  but  more 
often  with  the  mythical  figure — each  with  its  legend, 
or  its  bundle  of  legends,  poetic,  patriotic,  or  super- 
stitious. Arthur  s  Round  Table  at  Caerleon,  Mon- 
mouthshire, is  as  well  known  to  every  boy  in  the 
neighbourhood  as  any  inn  or  shop  of  the  village. 
It  is  a  grass-grown  Roman  amphitheatre,  whence 
alabaster  statues  of  Adrian's  day  have  been  dis- 
interred. There  is  also  an  Arthur's  Round  Table 
in  Denbighshire,  a  flat-topped  hill  thus  called,  and  in 
Anglesea  another,  near  the  village  of  Llanfihangel. 
Arthur's  Seat,  Arthur's  Bed,  Arthur's  Castle,  Ar- 
thur's Stone,  Arthur's  Hill,  Arthur's  Quoit,  Arthur's 
Board,  Arthur's  Carn,  Arthur's  Pot — these  are  but 
a  few  of  the  well-known  cromlechs,  rocking-stones, 
or  natural  objects  to  be  found  in  various  neighbour- 
hoods. They  are  often  in  duplicates,  under  these 
names,  but  they  never  bear  such  titles  by  other 
authority  than  traditions  reaching  back  into  the 
dark  ages.  Some  of  the  stories  and  superstitions 
which  attach  to  them  are  striking,  and  of  the  most 
fascinating  interest  to  the  student  of  folk-lore  ; 
others  are  merely  grotesque,  as  in  the  case  of 
Arthur's  Pot.  This  is  under  a  cromlech  at  Dolwil- 
lim,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tawe,  and  in  the  stream 
itself  when  the  water  is  high  ;  it  is  a  circular  hole  of 
considerable  depth,  accurately  bored  in  the  stone  by 
the  action  of  the  water.    This  hole  is  called  Arthur's 


37©  British  Goblins, 


Pot,  and  according  to  local  belief  was  made  by 
Merlin  for  the  hero  king  to  cook  his  dinner  in. 
Arthur's  Quoits  are  found  in  many  parts  of  the 
country.  A  large  rock  in  the  bed  of  the  Sawdde 
river,  on  the  Llangadock  side  of  Mynydd  Du,  (the 
Black  Mountain,)  is  one  of  these  quoits.  The  story 
is  that  the  king  one  day  flung  it  from  the  summit  of 
Pen  Arthur,  a  mile  away.  There  is  another  large 
rock  beside  it,  which  was  similarly  flung  down  by  a 
lady  of  Arthur's  acquaintance,  whose  gigantic  pro- 
portions may  be  guessed  from  the  fact  that  this 
boulder  was  a  pebble  in  her  shoe,  which  annoyed 
her. 

VIII. 

Upon  this  hint  there  opens  out  before  the  inquirer 
a  wealth  of  incident  and  illustration,  in  connection 
with  gigantic  Britons  of  old  time  who  hurled  huge 
rocks  about  as  pebbles.  There  is  the  story  of  the 
giant  Idris,  who  dwelt  upon  Cader  Idris,  and  who 
found  no  less  a  number  than  three  troublesome 
pebbles  in  his  shoe  as  he  was  out  walking  one  day, 
and  who  tossed  them  down  where  they  lie  on  the 
road  from  Dolgelley  to  Machynlleth,  three  bulky 
crags.  There  are  several  legends  about  Mol 
Walbec's  pebbles  in  Breconshire.  This  lusty  dame 
has  a  full  score  of  shadowy  castles  on  sundry  heights 
in  that  part  of  Wales  ;  and  she  is  said  to  have  built 
the  castle  of  Hay  in  one  night.  In  performing  this 
work  she  carried  the  stones  in  her  apron  ;  one  of 
these — a  pebble  about  a  foot  thick  and  nine  feet 
long — fell  into  her  shoe.  At  first  she  did  not  notice 
it,  but  by-and-by  it  began  to  annoy  her,  and  she 
plucked  it  out  and  threw  it  into  Llowes  churchyard, 
three  miles  away,  where  it  now  lies.  In  many  parts  of 
Wales  where  lie  rude  heaps  of  stones,  the  peasantry 
say  they  were  carried  there  by  a  witch  in  her  apron. 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         2>7^ 

The  gigantic  creatures  whose  dimensions  are  indi- 
cated by  these  stones  reappear  continually  in  Welsh 
folk-lore.  Arthur  is  merely  the  greatest  among 
them ;  all  were  of  prodigious  proportions.  Hu 
Gadarn,  Cadwaladr,  Rhitta  Gawr,  Brutus,  Idris,  are 
all  members  of  the  shadowy  race  whose  '  quoits ' 
and  '  pebbles '  are  scattered  about  Wales.  The 
remains  at  Stonehenge  have  been  from  time  imme- 
morial called  by  the  Cymry  the  Cor  Gawr,  Circle  or 
Dance  of  Giants.  How  the  Carmarthen  enchanter, 
Merlin,  transported  these  stones  hither  from  Killara 
mountain  in  Ireland  by  his  magic  art,  everybody 
knows.  It  is  only  necessary  that  a  stone  should  be 
of  a  size  to  make  the  idea  of  removing  it  an  appa- 
rently hopeless  one — that  Merlin  or  some  other 
magician  brought  it  there  by  enchantment,  or  that 
Arthur  or  some  other  giant  tossed  it  there  with  his 
mighty  arm,  is  a  matter  of  course.^  The  giant  of 
Trichrug,  (a  fairy  haunt  in  Cardiganshire,)  appears 
to  have  been  the  champion  pebble-tosser  of  Wales, 
if  local  legend  may  be  trusted.  Having  invited  the 
neighbouring  giants  to  try  their  strength  with  him  in 
throwing  stones,  he  won  the  victory  by  tossing  a 
huge  rock  across  the  sea  into  Ireland.  His  grave 
is  traditionally  reported  to  be  on  that  mountain,  and 
to  possess  the  same  properties  as  the  Expanding 
Stone,  for  it  fits  any  person  who  lies  down  in  it,  be 
he  tall  or  short.  It  has  the  further  virtue  of  im- 
parting extraordinary  strength  to  any  one  lying  in 
it ;  but  if  he  gets  into  it  with  arms  upon  his  person 
they  will  be  taken  from  him  and  he  will  never  see 
them  more. 

Mt  is  noteworthy  that  most  of  the  great  stones  of  these  legends 
appear  to  have  really  been  transported  to  the  place  where  they  are  now 
found,  being  often  of  a  different  rock  than  that  of  the  immediate 
locaUty.  To  what  extent  the  legends  express  the  first  vague  inductions 
of  early  geological  observers,  is  a  question  not  without  interest. 

2    B 


'372 


British  Goblins, 


IX. 

The  gigantic  stone-tossers  of  Wales  associate 
themselves  without  effort  with  the  mythology  of  the 
heavens.  One  of  their  chiefest,  Idris,  was  indeed 
noted  as  an  astrologer,  and  is  celebrated  as  such  in 
the  Triads : 

Idris  Gawr,  or  the  Giant  Idris  ; 
Gwydion,  or  the  Diviner  by  Trees  ; 
Gwyn,  the  Son  of  Nudd,  the  Generous  ; 

So  great  was  their  knowledge  of  the  stars,  that  they  could  foretell 
whatever  might  be  desired  to  be  known  until  the  day  of  doom. 

And  amonor  Welsh  legends  none  is  more  familiar 
than  that  of  Rhitta  Gawr,  wherein  the  stars  are 
familiarly  spoken  of  as  cows  and  sheep,  and  the 
firmament  as  their  pasture. 


i 


« 


(   ^n   ) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Early  Inscribed  Stones — The  Stone  Pillar  of  Banwan  Bryddin,  near 
Neath — Catastrophe  accompanying  its  Removal — The  Sagranus 
Stone  and  the  White  Lady — The  Dancing  Stones  of  Stackpool — 
Human  Beings  changed  to  Stones — St.  Ceyna  and  the  Serpents — 
The  Devil's  Stone  at  Llanarth — Rocking  Stones  and  their  accom- 
panying Superstitions — The  Suspended  Altar  of  Loin-Garth — Crom- 
lechs and  their  Fairy  Legends — The  Fairies'  Castle  at  St.  Nicholas, 
Glamorganshire — The  Stone  of  the  Wolf  Bitch — The  Welsh  Melu- 
sina — Pare  y  Bigwrn  Cromlech— Connection  of  these  Stones  with 
Ancient  Druidism. 

I. 

Paleographic  students  are  more  or  less  familiar 
with  about  seventy  early  inscribed  stones  in  Wales. 
The  value  of  these  monuments,  as  corroborative 
evidence  of  historical  facts,  in  connection  with  waning 
popular  traditions,  is  well  understood.  Superstitious 
prejudice  is  particularly  active  in  connection  with 
stones  of  this  kind.  The  peasantry  view  them 
askance,  and  will  destroy  them  if  not  restrained,  as 
they  usually  are,  by  fear  of  evil  results  to  themselves. 
Antiquaries  have  often  reason  to  thank  superstition 
for  the  existence  in  our  day  of  these  ancient  monu- 
ments. But  there  is  a  sort  of  progressive  movement 
towards  enlightenment  which  carries  the  Welsh  farmer 
from  the  fearsome  to  the  destructive  stage,  in  this 
connection.  That  dangerous  thing,  a  little  know- 
ledge, sometimes  leads  its  imbiber  beyond  the  reach 
of  all  fear  of  the  guardian  fairy  or  demon  of  the 
stone,  yet  leaves  him  still  so  superstitious  regard- 
ing it  that  he  believes  its  influence  to  be  baleful, 
and  its  destruction  a  sort  of  duty.  It  was  the 
common  opinion  of  the  peasantry  of  the  parish  in 

2    B    2 


374  British  Uoblins. 


which  it  stood,  that  whoever  happened  to  read  the 
inscription  on  the  Maen  Llythyrog,  an  early  inscribed 
stone  on  the  top  of  a  mountain  near  Margam  Abbey, 
in  Glamorganshire,  would  die  soon  after.  In  many 
instances  the  stones  are  believed  to  be  transformed 
human  beings,  doomed  to  this  guise  for  some  sin, 
usually  an  act  of  sacrilege.  Beliefs  of  this  character 
would  naturally  be  potent  in  influencing  popular 
feeling  against  the  stones.  But  on  the  other  hand, 
however  desirable  might  be  their  extinction,  there 
would  be  perils  involved,  which  one  would  rather  his 
neighbour  than  himself  should  encounter.  Various 
awful  consequences,  but  especially  the  most  terrific 
storms  and  disturbances  of  the  earth,  followed  any 
meddling  with  them. 

At  Banwan  Bryddin,  a  few  miles  from  Neath,  a 
stone  pillar  inscribed  '  Marci  caritini  filii  bericii,' 
long  stood  on  a  tumulus  which  by  the  peasants  was 
considered  a  fairy  ring.  The  late  Lady  Mackworth 
caused  this  stone  to  be  removed  to  a  grotto  she  was 
constructing  on  her  grounds,  and  which  she  was 
ornamenting  with  all  the  curious  stones  she  could 
collect.  An  old  man  who  was  an  under-gardener 
on  her  estate,  and  who  abounded  with  tales  of 
goblins,  declaring  he  had  often  had  intercourse  with 
these  strange  people,  told  the  Rev.  Mr.  Williams  of 
Tir-y-Cwm,  that  he  had  always  known  this  act  of 
sacrilege  would  not  go  unpunished  by  the  guardians 
of  the  stone.  He  had  more  than  once  seen  these 
sprites  dancing  of  an  evening  in  the  rings  of  Banwan 
Bryddin,  where  the  '  wonder  stone '  stood,  but  never 
since  the  day  the  stone  was  removed  had  any  mortal 
seen  them.  Upon  the  stone,  he  said,  were  written 
mysterious  words  in  the  fairy  language,  which  no 
one  had  ever  been  able  to  comprehend,  not  even 
Lady  Mackworth  herself.     When  her  ladyship  re- 


4\ 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones^  and  Dragons.         375 

moved  the  stone  to  Gnoll  Gardens  the  fairies  were 
very  much  annoyed ;  and  the  grotto,  which  cost 
Lady  Mackworth  thousands  of  pounds  to  build,  was 
no  sooner  finished  than  one  night,  Duw'n  catwo  ni ! 
there  was  such  thunder  and  Hghtning  as  never  was 
heard  or  seen  in  Glamorganshire  before ;  and  next 
morning  the  grotto  was  gone  !  The  hill  had  fallen 
over  it  and  hidden  it  for  ever.  '  Iss  indeed,'  said 
the  old  man,  '  and  woe  will  fall  on  the  Cymro  or  the 
Saeson  that  will  dare  to  clear  the  earth  away.  I 
myself,  and  others  who  was  there,  was  hear  the 
fairies  laughing  loud  that  night,  after  the  storm  has 
cleared  away.' 

II. 

The  Sagranus  Stone  at  St.  Dogmell's,  Pembroke- 
shire, was  formerly  used  as  a  bridge  over  a  brook 
not  far  from  where  it  at  present  stands — luckily 
with  its  inscribed  face  downwards,  so  that  the  sculp- 
ture remained  unharmed  while  generations  were 
tramping  over  it.  During  its  use  as  a  bridge  it 
bore  the  reputation  of  being  haunted  by  a  white 
lady,  who  was  constantly  seen  gliding  over  it  at  the 
witching  hour  of  midnight.  No  man  or  woman 
could  be  induced  to  touch  the  strange  stone  after 
dark,  and  its  supernatural  reputation  no  doubt 
helped  materially  in  its  preservation  unharmed  till 
the  present  time.  It  is  considered  on  paleographic 
grounds  to  be  of  the  fourth  century. 

In  Pembrokeshire  also  are  found  the  famous 
Dancing  Stones  of  Stackpool.  These  are  three 
upright  stones  standing  about  a  mile  from  each 
other,  the  first  at  Stackpool  Warren,  the  second 
further  to  the  west,  on  a  stone  tumulus  in  a  field 
known  as  Horestone  Park,  and  the  third  still  further 
westward.  One  of  many  traditions  concerning  them 
is  to  the  effect   that  on    a   certain  day  they  meet 


376  British  Goblins. 


and  come  down  to  Sais's  Ford  to  dance,  and  after 

their  revel  is  over  return  home  and  resume  their 

places. 

III. 

There  is  a  curious  legend  regarding  three  stones 
which  once  stood  on  the  top  of  Moelfre  Hill,  in  Car- 
narvonshire, but  which  were  long  ago  rolled  to  the 
bottom  of  the  hill  by  *  some  idle-headed  youths  * 
who  dug  them  up.  They  were  each  about  four  feet 
high,  standing  as  the  corners  of  a  triangle ;  one  was 
red  as  blood,  another  white,  and  the  third  a  pale 
blue.  The  tradition  says  that  three  women,  about 
the  time  when  Christianity  first  began  to  be  known 
in  Britain,  went  up  Moelfre  Hill  on  a  Sabbath  morn- 
ing to  winnow  their  corn.  They  had  spread  their 
winnowing  sheet  upon  the  ground  and  begun  their 
work,  when  some  of  their  neighbours  came  to  them 
and  reprehended  them  for  working  on  the  Lord's 
day.  But  the  women,  having  a  greater  eye  to  their 
worldly  profit  than  to  the  observance  of  the  fourth 
commandment,  made  light  of  their  neighbours' 
words,  and  went  on  working.  Thereupon  they  were 
instantly  transformed  into  three  pillars  of  stone,  each 
stone  of  the  same  colour  as  the  dress  of  the  woman 
in  whose  place  it  stood,  one  red,  one  white,  and  the 
third  bluish. 

Legends  of  the  turning  to  stone  of  human  beings 
occur  in  connection  with  many  of  the  meini  hirion 
(long  stones).  Near  Llandyfrydog,  Anglesea,  there 
is  a  maenhir  of  peculiar  shape.  From  one  point  of 
view  it  looks  not  unlike  the  figure  of  a  humpbacked 
man,  and  it  is  called  '  Carreg  y  Lleidr,'  or  the 
Robber  s  Stone.  The  tradition  connected  with  it  is 
that  a  man  who  had  stolen  the  church  Bible,  and 
was  carrying  it  away  on  his  shoulder,  was  turned 
into  this  stone,  and  must  stand  here  till  the  last 
trump  sets  him  free. 


Bells^   Wells ^  Slones,  and  Dragons.         2)11 

At  Rolldritch  (Rhwyldrech  ?)  there  Is  or  was  a 
circle  of  stones,  concerning  which  tradition  held  that 
they  were  the  human  victims  of  a  witch  who,  for 
some  offence,  transformed  them  to  this  shape.  In 
connection  with  this  circle  is  preserved  another  form 
of  superstitious  belief  very  often  encountered, 
namely,  that  the  number  of  stones  in  the  circle  can- 
not be  correctly  counted  by  a  mortal/ 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  only  creature  which 
shares  with  man  the  grim  fate  of  being  turned  to 
stone,  in  Welsh  legends,  is  the  serpent.  The  monk- 
ish account  of  St.  Ceyna,  one  of  the  daughters  of 
Prince  Brychan,  of  Breconshire,  relates  that  having 
consecrated  her  virginity  to  the  Lord  by  a  perpetual 
vow,  she  resolved  to  seek  some  desert  place  where 
she  could  give  herself  wholly  up  to  meditation.  So 
she  journeyed  beyond  the  river  Severn,  '  and  there 
meeting  a  woody  place,  she  made  her  request  to  the 
prince  of  that  country  that  she  might  be  permitted 
to  serve  God  in  that  solitude.  His  answer  was  that 
he  was  very  willing  to  grant  her  request,  but  that  the 
place  did  so  swarm  with  serpents  that  neither  man 
nor  beast  could  inhabit  it.  But  she  replied  that  her 
firm  trust  was  in  the  name  and  assistance  of  Almighty 
God  to  drive  all  that  poisonous  brood  out  of  that 
region.  Hereupon  the  place  was  granted  to  the 
holy  virgin,  who,  prostrating  herself  before  God, 
obtained  of  him  to  change  the  serpents  and  vipers 
into  stones.  And  to  this  day  the  stones  in  that 
region  do  resemble  the  windings  of  serpents,  through 
all  the  fields  and  villages,  as  if  they  had  been  framed 
by  the  hand  of  the  sculptor.'  The  scene  of  this 
legend  is  mentioned  by  Camden  as  being  at  a  place 
near  Bristol,  called  Keynsham,  '  where  abundance 
of  that  fossil  called  by  the  naturalists  Cornu  Am- 
mo n  is  is  dug  up.' 

*  Roberts,  '  Camb.  Pop.  Ant.,'  220. 


^yS  British  Goblins. 


■     IV. 

Our  old  friepd  the  devil  is  once  more  to  the  fore 
when  we  encounter  the  inscribed  stone  of  the  twelfth 
century,  which  stands  in  the  churchyard  of  Llanarth, 
near  Aberaeron,  in  Cardiganshire.  A  cross  covers 
this  stone,  with  four  circular  holes  at  the  junction  of 
the  arms.  The  current  tradition  of  the  place  regard- 
ing it  is  that  one  stormy  night,  there  was  such  a 
tremendous  noise  heard  in  the  belfry  that  the  whole 
village  was  thrown  into  consternation.  It  was 
finally  concluded  that  nobody  but  the  diawl  could 
be  the  cause  of  this,  and  therefore  the  people  fetched 
his  reverence  from  the  vicarage  to  go  and  request 
the  intruder  to  depart.  The  vicar  went  up  into  the 
belfry,  with  bell,  book,  and  candle,  along  the  narrow 
winding  stone  staircase,  and,  as  was  anticipated, 
there  among  the  bells  he  saw  the  devil  in  person. 
The  good  man  began  the  usual  '  Conj urate  in  no- 
mine,' etc.,  when  the  fiend  sprang  up  and  mounted 
upon  the  leads  of  the  tower.  The  vicar  was  not  to 
be  balked,  however,  and  boldly  followed  up  the 
remainder  of  the  staircase  and  got  also  out  upon  the 
leads.  The  devil  finding  himself  hard  pressed,  had 
nothing  for  it  but  to  jump  over  the  battlements  of 
the  tower.  He  came  down  plump  among  the  grave- 
stones below,  and  falling  upon  one,  made  with  his 
hands  and  knees  the  four  holes  now  visible  on  the 
stone  in  question,  which  among  the  country  people 
still  bears  the  name  of  the  Devil's  Stone. 


The  logan  stones  in  various  parts  of  Wales, 
which  vibrate  mysteriously  under  the  touch  of  a 
child's  finger,  and  rock  violently  at  a  push  from  a 
man's  stronger   hand,  are   also   considered   by   the 


Bells^   Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         379 

superstitious  a  favourite  resort  of  the  fairies  and  the 
diawl.  The  holy  aeroHte  to  which  unnumbered 
multitudes  bow  down  at  Mecca  is  indeed  no  stranger 
thing  than  the  rocking-stone  on  Pontypridd's  sky- 
perched  common.  Among  the  marvellous  stones 
in  Nennius  is  one  concerning  a  certain  altar  in  Loin- 
garth,  in  Gower,  'suspended  by  the  power  of  God,' 
which  he  says  a  legend  tells  us  was  brought  thither 
in  a  ship  along  with  the  dead  body  of  some  holy 
man  who  desired  to  be  buried  near  St.  Illtyd's 
grave,  and  to  remain  unknown  by  name,  lest  he 
should  become  an  object  of  too  reverent  regard  ;  for 
Illtyd  dwelt  in  a  cave  there,  the  mouth  of  which 
faced  the  sea  in  those  days ;  and  having  received 
this  charge,  he  buried  the  corpse,  and  built  a  church 
over  it,  enclosing  the  wonderful  altar,  which  testified 
by  more  than  one  astounding  miracle  the  Divine 
power  which  sustained  it.  This  is  thought  to  be  a 
myth  relating  to  some  Welsh  rocking-stone  no  longer 
known.  The  temptation  to  throw  down  stones  of 
this  character  has  often  been  too  much  for  the 
destruction-loving  vulgarian,  both  in  Wales  and  in 
other  parts  of  the  British  islands  ;  but  the  offenders 
have  seldom  been  the  local  peasantry,  who  believe 
that  the  guardians  of  the  stone — the  fairies  or  the 
diawl,  as  the  case  may  be — will  heavily  avenge 
its  overthrow  on  the  overthrowers. 

VI. 

Venerable  in  their  hoary  antiquity  stand  those 
monuments  of  a  long-vanished  humanity,  the  crom- 
lechs which  are  so  numerous  in  Wales,  sharing  with 
the  logan  and  the  inscribed  stone  the  peasant's  super- 
stitious interest.  Even  more  than  the  others,  these 
solemn  rocks  are  surrounded  with  legends  of  enchant- 
ment.    They  figure  in  many  fairy-tales  like  that  of 


38o 


British  Goblins. 


the  shepherd  of  Frennlfawr,  who  stood  watching 
their  mad  revelry  about  the  old  cromlech,  where 
they  were  dancing,  making  music  on  the  harp,  and 
chasing  their  companions  in  hilarious  sort.  That 
the  fairies  protect  the  cromlechs  with  special  care, 
as  they  also  do  the  logans  and  others,  is  a  belief  the 
Welsh  peasant  shares  with  the  superstitious  in  many 
lands.  There  is  a  remarkable  cromlech  near  the 
hamlet   of  St.    Nicholas,    Glamorganshire,    on    the 


THE   FAIRY    FROLIC   AT   THE   CROMLECH. 

estate  of  the  family  whose  house  has  the  honour  of 
being  haunted  by  the  ghost  of  an  admiral.  This 
cromlech  is  called,  by  children  in  that  neighbour- 
hood, *  Castle  Correg.'  A  Cardiff  gentleman  who 
asked  some  children  who  were  playing  round  the 
cromlech,  what  they  termed  it,  was  struck  by  the 
name,  which  recalled  to  him  the  Breton  fairies  thus 
designated.^     The  korreds  and  korregs  of  Brittany 

*  Mr.  J.  W.  Lukis,  in  an  address  before  the  Cardiff  Nat.  See.  in 
July,  1874. 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         381 

closely  resemble  the  Welsh  fairies  in  numberless 
details.  The  korreds  are  supposed  to  live  in  the 
cromlechs,  of  which  they  are  believed  to  have  been 
the  builders.  They  dance  around  them  at  night, 
and  woe  betide  the  unhappy  peasant  who  joins  them 
in  their  roundels/  Like  beliefs  attach  to  cromlechs 
in  the  Haute  Auvergne,  and  other  parts  of  France. 
A  cromlech  at  Pirols,  said  to  have  been  built  by  a 
fee,  is  composed  of  seven  massive  stones,  the 
largest  being  twelve  feet  long  by  eight  and  a  half 
feet  wide.  The  f6e  carried  these  stones  hither  from 
a  great  distance,  and  set  them  up ;  and  the  largest 
and  heaviest  one  she  carried  on  the  top  of  her 
spindle,  and  so  little  was  she  incommoded  by  it  that 
she  continued  to  spin  all  the  way.^ 

VII. 

Among  the  Welsh  peasantry  the  cromlechs  are 
called  by  a  variety  of  names,  one  interesting  group 
giving  in  Cardiganshire  '  the  Stone  of  the  Bitch,'  in 
Glamorganshire  '  the  Stone  of  the  Greyhound  Bitch,' 
in  Carmarthenshire  and  in  Monmouthshire  'the 
Kennel  of  the  Greyhound  Bitch,'  and  in  some  other 
parts  of  Wales  *  the  Stone  of  the  Wolf  Bitch.' 
These  names  refer  to  no  fact  of  modern  experience ; 
they  are  legendary.  The  Cambrian  form  of  the 
story  of  Melusina  is  before  us  here,  with  differing 
details.  The  wolf-bitch  of  the  Welsh  legend  was  a 
princess  who  for  her  sins  was  transformed  to  that 
shape,  and  thus  long  remained.  Her  name  was 
Gast  Rhymhi,  and  she  had  two  cubs  while  a  wolf- 
bitch,  with  which  she  dwelt  in  a  cave.  After  long 
suffering  in  this  wretched  guise,  she  and  her  cubs 
were  restored  to  their  human  form  '  for  Arthur,'  who 

^  Keightley,  '  Fairy  Mythology,'  432. 
"^  Cambry,  *  Monuments  Celtiques,'  232. 


o 


82  British  Gobli^is, 


sought  her  out.  The  unfortunate  Meluslna,  it  will 
be  remembered,  was  never  entirely  robbed  of  her 
human  form. 

*  Ange  par  la  figure,  et  serpent  par  le  reste,' 

she  was  condemned  by  the  lovely  fay  Pressina  to 
become  a  serpent  from  the  waist  downwards,  on 
every  Saturday,  till  she  should  meet  a  man  who 
would  marry  her  under  certain  specified  conditions. 
The  monkish  touch  is  on  the  Welsh  legend,  in  the 
medieval  form  in  which  we  have  it  in  the  Mabinogi 
of  *  Kilhwch  and  Olwen.'  The  princess  is  trans- 
formed into  a  wolf-bitch  'for  her  sins,'  and  when 
restored,  although  it  is  for  Arthur,  '  God  did  change' 
her  to  a  woman  again. ^ 

VIII. 

In  a  field  called  Parc-y-Bigwrn,  near  Llanboidy, 
Carmarthenshire,  are  the  remains  of  a  cromlech 
destroyed  many  years  ago,  concerning  which  an  old 
man  named  John  Jones  related  a  superstitious  tale.- 
It  was  to  the  effect  that  there  were  ten  men  engaged 
in  the  work  of  throwing  it  down,  and  that  when 
they  were  touching  the  stone  they  became  filled 
with  awe ;  and  moreover,  as  the  stone  was  being 
drawn  away  by  six  horses  the  road  was  suddenly 
rent  asunder  in  a  supernatural  manner.  This  is  a 
frequent  phenomenon  supposed  by  the  Welsh  pea- 
santry to  accompany  the  attempt  to  move  a  crom- 
lech. Another  common  catastrophe  is  the  breaking 
down  of  the  waggon — not  from  the  weight  of  the 
stone,  but  through  the  displeasure  of  its  goblin 
guardians.  Sometimes  this  awful  labour  is  accom- 
panied by  fierce  storms  of  hail  and  wind,  or  violent 
thunder   and    lightning;    sometimes    by    mysterious 

^  '  Mabinogion,'  259. 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones^  and  Dragons.         383 

noises,  or  swarms  of  bees  which  are  supposed  to  be 
fairies  in  disguise. 

IX. 

A  very  great  number  of  fanciful  legends  might  be 
related  in  connection  with  stones  of  striking  shape, 
or  upon  which  there  are  peculiar  marks  and  figures  ; 
but  enough  of  this  store  of  folk-lore  has  been  given 
to  serve  present  ends.  If  more  were  detailed,  there 
would  in  all  cases  be  found  a  family  resemblance  to 
the  legends  which  have  been  presented,  and  which 
lead  us  now  into  the  enchanted  country  where 
Arthur  reigns,  now  wandering  among  the  monkish 
records  of  church  and  abbey,  now  to  the  company 
of  the  dwarfs  and  giants  of  fairyland.  That  the 
British  Druids  regarded  many  of  these  stones  with 
idolatrous  reverence,  is  most  probable.  Some  of 
them,  as  the  cromlechs  and  logans,  they  no  doubt 
employed  in  their  mystic  rites,  as  being  symbols  of 
the  dimly  descried  Power  they  worshipped.  Of  their 
extreme  antiquity  there  is  no  question.  The  rocking- 
stones  may  be  considered  natural  objects,  though 
they  were  perhaps  assisted  to  their  remarkable  poise 
by  human  hands.  The  cromlechs  were  originally 
sepulchral  chambers,  unquestionably,  but  they  are 
so  old  that  neither  history  nor  tradition  gives  any 
aid  in  assigning  the  date  of  their  erection.  Opinions 
that  they  were  once  pulpits  of  sun-worship,  or 
Druidic  altars  of  sacrifice,  are  not  unwarranted, 
perhaps,  though  necessarily  conjectural.  The  evi- 
dence that  the  inscribed  stones  are  simply  funeral 
monuments,  is  extensive  and  conclusive.  Originally 
erected  in  honour  of  some  great  chief  or  warrior, 
they  were  venerated  by  the  people,  and  became 
shrines  about  which  the  latter  gathered  in  a  spirit  of 
devotion.  With  the  lapse  of  ages,  the  warrior  was 
forgotten  ;  even  the  language  in  which  he  was  com- 


3^4 


British  GooHns. 


memorated  decayed,  and  the  marks  on  the  stones 
became  to  the  peasantry  meaningless  hieroglyphics, 
to  which  was  given  a  mysterious  and  awful  signi- 
ficance ;  and  so  for  unnumbered  centuries  the  tomb- 
stone remained  an  object  of  superstitious  fear  and 
veneration. 


o«D 


CHAPTER  V. 

Baleful  Spirits  of  Storm — The  Shower  at  the  Magic  Fountain — Ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  Treasure-Seekers — the  Red  Lady  of  Paviland 
— The  Fall  of  Coychurch  Tower — Thunder  and  Lightning  evoked 
by  Digging — The  Treasure- Chest  under  Moel  Arthur  in  the  Vale  of 
Clwyd — Modern  Credulity — The  Cavern  of  the  Ravens — The  Eagle- 
guarded  Coffer  of  Castell  Coch — Sleeping  Warriors  as  Treasure- 
Guarders — The  Dragon  which  St.  Samson  drove  out  of  Wales — 
Dragons  in  the  Mabinogion — Whence  came  the  Red  Dragon  of 
Wales  ? — The  Original  Dragon  of  Mythology — Prototypes  of  the 
Welsh  Caverns  and  Treasure-Hills — The  Goblins  of  Electricity. 

I. 

In  the  prominent  part  played  by  storm — torrents  of 
rain,  blinding  lightning,  deafening  thunder  —  in 
legends  of  disturbed  cromlechs,  and  other  awful 
stones,  is  involved  the  ancient  belief  that  these 
elements  were  themselves  baleful  spirits,  which 
could  be  evoked  by  certain  acts.  They  were  in 
the  service  of  fiends  and  fairies,  and  came  at  their 
bidding  to  avenge  the  intrusion  of  venturesome 
mortals,  daring  to  meddle  with  sacred  things.  This 
fascinating  superstition  is  preserved  in  numberless 
Welsh  legends  relating  to  hidden  treasures,  buried 
under  cromlechs  or  rocky  mounds,  or  in  caverns. 
In  the  '  Mabinogion '  it  appears  in  the  enchanted 
barrier  to  the  Castle  of  the  Lady  of  the  Fountain. 
Under  a  certain  tall  tree  in  the  midst  of  a  wide 
valley  there  was  a  fountain,  '  and  by  the  side  of  the 
fountain  a  marble  slab,  and  on  the  marble  slab  a 
silver  bowl,  attached  by  a  chain  of  silver,  so  that  it 
may  not  be  carried  away.  Take  the  bowl  and 
throw  a  bowlful  of  water  on  the  slab,'  says  the  black 


:S6  British  Goblins. 


i 


giant  of  the  wood  to  Sir  Kai,  '  and  thou  wilt  hear  a 
mighty  peal  of  thunder,  so  that  thou  wilt  think  that 
heaven  and  earth  are  trembling  with  its  fury.  With 
the  thunder  there  will  come  a  shower  so  severe 
that  it  will  be  scarce  possible  for  thee  to  endure  it 
and  live.  And  the  shower  will  be  of  hailstones  ; 
and  after  the  shower  the  weather  will  become  fair, 
but  every  leaf  that  was  upon  the  tree  will  have  been 
carried  away  by  the  shower.'  ^  Of  course  the  knight 
dares  this  awful  obstacle,  throws  the  bowlful  of 
water  upon  the  slab,  receives  the  terrible  storm 
upon  his  shield,  and  fights  the  knight  who  owned 
the  fountain,  on  his  coming  forth.  Sir  Kai  is 
worsted,  and  returns  home  to  Arthur's  court ; 
whereupon  Sir  Owain  takes  up  the  contest.  He 
sallies  forth,  evokes  the  storm,  encounters  the  black 
knight,  slays  him,  and  becomes  master  of  all  that 
was  his — his  castle,  his  lands,  his  wife,  and  all  his 
treasures. 

The  peasant  of  to-day  who  sets  out  in  quest  of 
hidden  treasures  evokes  the  avenging  storm  in  like 
manner.  Sometimes  the  treasure  is  in  the  ground, 
under  a  cromlech  or  a  earn ;  he  digs,  and  the  thunder 
shakes  the  air,  the  lightnings  flash,  torrents  descend, 
and  he  is  frustrated  in  his  search.  Again,  the 
treasure  is  in  a  cavern,  guarded  by  a  dragon,  which 
belches  forth  fire  upon  him  and  scorches  his  eye- 
balls. Welsh  folk-lore  is  full  of  legends  of  this 
character ;  and  the  curious  way  in  which  science 
and  religion  sometimes  get  mixed  up  with  these 
superstitions  is  most  suggestive — as  in  the  cases  of 
the  falling  of  Coychurch  tower,  and  the  Red  Lady 
of  Paviland.  The  latter  is  the  name  given  a  skele- 
ton found  by  Dr.  Buckland  in  his  exploration  of  the 
Paviland  caves,   the  bones  of  which  were  stained 

1  '  Mabinogion,'  8. 


Bells,   Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons,         387 

by  red  oxide  of  iron.  The  vulgar  belief  is  that  the 
Red  Lady  was  entombed  in  the  cave  by  a  storm 
while  seeking  treasure  there — a  legend  the  truth  of 
which  no  one  can  dispute  with  authority,  since  the 
bones  are  certainly  of  a  period  contemporary  with 
the  Roman  rule  in  this  island.  Coins  of  Constantine 
were  found  in  the  same  earth,  cemented  with  frag- 
ments of  charcoal  and  bone  ornaments.  In  the 
case  of  Coychurch  tower,  it  undoubtedly  fell  because 
it  was  undermined  by  a  contractor  who  had  the  job 
of  removing  certain  defunct  forefathers  from  their 
graves  near  its  base.  Some  eighteen  hundred  skulls 
were  taken  from  the  ground  and  carted  off  to  a  hole 
on  the  east  side  of  the  church.  But  the  country 
folk  pooh-pooh  the  idea  that  the  tower  fell  for  any 
reason  other  than  sheer  indignation  and  horror  at 
the  disturbance  of  this  hallowed  ground  by  utilitarian 
pickaxe  and  spade.  They  call  your  attention  to  the 
fact  that  not  only  did  the  venerable  tower  come 
crashing  down,  after  having  stood  for  centuries  erect, 
but  that  In  falling  It  struck  to  the  earth  St.  Crallo's 
cross — an  upright  stone  In  the  churchyard  as  vener- 
able as  itself — breaking  It  all  to  pieces. 

II. 

A  hollow  in  the  road  near  Caerau,  in  Cardigan- 
shire, '  rings  when  any  wheeled  vehicle  goes  over 
It.'  Early  In  this  century,  two  men  having  been 
led  to  believe  that  there  were  treasures  hidden 
there  (for  a  fairy  in  the  semblance  of  a  gipsy  had 
appeared  and  thrown  out  hints  on  the  fascinating 
subject  from  time  to  time),  made  up  their  minds  to 
dig  for  it.  They  dug  accordingly  until  they  came, 
by  their  solemn  statement,  to  the  oaken  frame  of  a 
subterranean  doorway ;  and  feeling  sure  now,  that 
they  had  serious  work   before   them,  prepared  for 

2  c 


388  British  Goblins. 


I 


the  same  by  going  to  dinner.  They  had  no  sooner 
gone  than  a  terrible  storm  arose ;  the  rain  fell  in 
torrents,  the  thunder  pealed  and  the  lightning 
flashed.  When  they  went  back  to  their  work,  the 
hole  they  had  digged  was  closed  up  ;  and  nothing 
would  convince  them  that  this  was  done  by  any 
other  than  a  supernatural  agency.  Moreover,  but 
a  little  above  the  place  where  they  were,  there 
had  been  no  rain  at  all.* 

III. 

There  is  a  current  belief  among  the  peasants 
about  Moel  Arthur — a  mountain  overlooking  the 
Vale  of  Clwyd — that  treasure,  concealed  in  an  iron 
chest  with  a  ring-handle  to  it,  lies  buried  there. 
The  place  of  concealment  is  often  illuminated  at 
night  by  a  supernatural  light.  Several  people  there- 
abouts are  known  to  have  seen  the  light,  and  there 
are  even  men  who  will  tell  you  that  bold  adventurers 
have  so  far  succeeded  as  to  grasp  the  handle  of  the 
iron  chest,  when  an  outburst  of  wild  tempest  wrested 
it  from  their  hold  and  struck  them  senseless.  Local 
tradition  points  out  the  place  as  the  residence  of  an 
ancient  prince,  and  as  a  spot  charmed  against  the 
spade  of  the  antiquary.  *  Whoever  digs  there,'  said 
an  old  woman  in  Welsh  to  some  men  going  home 
from  their  work  on  this  spot,  after  a  drenching  wet 
day,  *  is  always  driven  away  by  thunder  and  light- 
ning and  storm  ;  you  have  been  served  like  every- 
body else  who  has  made  the  attempt.' 

IV. 

So  prevalent  are  superstitions  of  this  class  even 
in  the  present  day  that  cases  get  into  the  news- 
papers now  and  then.     The  'Herald  Cymraeg'  of 

*  *  Arch.  Camb.'  3rd  Se.,  ix,,  306. 


Bells,    Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         389 

September  25,  1874,  gave  an  account  of  some  ex- 
cavations made  at  Pant-y-Saer  cromlech,  Anglesea, 
by  the  instigation  of  John  Jones  of  Llandudno,  '  a 
brother  of  Isaac  Jones,  the  present  tenant  of  Pant-y- 
Saer/  at  the  time  on  a  visit  to  the  latter.  The 
immediately  exciting  cause  of  the  digging  was  a 
dream  in  which  the  dreamer  was  told  that  there 
was  a  pot  of  treasure  buried  within  the  cromlech's 
precincts.  The  result  was  the  revelation  of  a  large 
number  of  human  bones,  among  them  five  lower 
jaws  with  the  teeth  sound ;  but  no  crochan  aur 
(pitcher  of  gold)  turned  up,  and  the  digging  was 
abandoned  in  disgust.  Is  it  credible  that  between 
this  account  and  the  following  yawns  the  gulf  of 
seven  hundred  years  ?  Thus  Giraldus  :  In  the  pro- 
vince of  Kemeys,  one  of  the  seven  cantrefs  of 
Pembrokeshire,  '  during  the  reign  of  King  Henry  I., 
a  rich  man  who  had  a  residence  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  Preseleu  mountains  was  warned  for  three 
successive  nights  by  dreams  that  if  he  put  his  hand 
under  a  stone  which  hung  over  the  spring  of  a 
neighbouring  well  called  the  Fountain  of  St.  Ber- 
nacus,  he  should  find  there  a  golden  chain  ;  obeying 
the  admonition,  on  the  third  day  he  received  from  a 
viper  a  deadly  wound  in  his  finger;  but  as  it  appears 
that  many  treasures  have  been  discovered  through 
dreams,  it  seems  to  me  probable  that  some  ought 
and  some  ought  not  to  be  believed.'  ^ 

V. 

In  a  certain  cavern  in  Glamorganshire,  called  the 
Ogof  Cigfrain,  or  Cavern  of  the  Ravens,  is  said  to 
be  a  chest  of  gold,  watched  over  by  two  birds  of 
gloomy  plumage,  in  a  darkness  so  profound  that 
nothing  can  be  seen  but  the  fire  of  their  sleepless 

^  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare's  Giraldus,  *  Itin.  Carab.'  ii.,  yj, 

2    C    2 


390  British  Goblins. 


eyes.  To  go  there  with  the  purpose  of  disturbing 
them  is  to  bring  on  a  heaving  and  rolling  of  the 
ground,  accompanied  by  thunder  and  lightning.  A 
swaggering  drover  from  Brecknockshire,  though 
warned  by  a  *  dark  woman '  that  he  had  better  not 
try  it,  sneered  that  '  a  couple  of  ravens  were  a  fine 
matter  to  be  afraid  of  indeed ! '  and  ventured  into 
the  cavern,  with  a  long  rope  about  his  waist,  and  a 
lantern  in  his  hand.  Some  men  who  accompanied 
him  (seeing  that  he  was  bent  on  this  rash  and  dan- 
gerous emprise,)  held  the  coil  of  rope,  and  paid  it 
out  as  he  went  further  and  further  in.  The  result 
was  prompt  and  simple :  the  sky  cracked  with  loud 
bursts  of  thunder  and  flashes  of  lightning,  and  the 
drover  roared  with  affright  and  rushed  out  of  the 
dark  cavern  with  his  hair  on  end.  No  coaxingf 
ever  prevailed  on  him  to  reveal  the  terrible  sights 
he  had  seen ;  when  questioned  he  would  only 
repeat  in  Welsh  the  advice  of  *  Punch '  to  those 
about  to  marry,  viz.,  *  Peidiwch  !' 

VI. 

In  the  legend  of  Castell  Coch,  instead  of  a  raven 
it  is  a  pair  of  huge  eagles  which  watch  the  treasure. 
Castell  Coch  is  an  easy  and  pleasant  two  hours'  walk 
from  Cardiff  Castle,  with  which  it  is  vulgarly  believed 
to  be  connected  by  a  subterranean  passage.  A  short 
time  ago — well,  to  be  precise,  a  hundred  years  ago, 
but  that  is  no  time  at  all  in  the  history  of  Castell 
Coch,  which  was  a  crumbling  ruin  then  as  it  is  now  ^ 
— in  or  about  the  year  1780,  a  reduced  lady  was 
allowed  to  fit  up  three  or  four  rooms  in  the  ruin  as 
a  residence,  and  to  live  there  with  two  old  servants 
of  her  house.     One  night  this  lady  was  awakened 

^  It  is  at  present  being  entirely  restored  and  mad€  habitable  by  its 
owner,  Lord  Bute. 


Bells^   Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         391 


from  her  sleep  to  receive  the  visit  of  a  venerable 
ghost  in  a  full  dress-suit  of  an  earlier  century,  who 
distressed  her  by  his  troubled  countenance  and 
vexed  her  by  his  eccentric  behaviour,  for  when  she 
spoke  to  him  from  the  depths  of  her  nightcap  he  at 
once  got  through  the  wall.  He  came  on  subsequent 
nights  so  often,  and  frightened  the  servants  so  much 
by  the  noise  he  made — in  getting  through  the  wall, 
of  course — that  the  lady  gave  up  her  strange  abode, 
and  was  glad  to  pay  house  rent  ever  after  in  other 
parts.  This  old  ghost  was  in  the  flesh  proprietor 
of  the  castle,  it  appears,  and  during  the  civil  wars 
buried  an  iron  chest  full  of  gold  in  the  subterranean 
passage — which  is  still  there,  guarded  by  two  large 
eagles.  A  party  of  gentlemen  who  somewhere  about 
1800  attempted  to  explore  the  passage  saw  the 
eagles,  and  were  attacked  by  the  birds  of  freedom 
so  fiercely  that  they  retreated  in  disorder.  Sub- 
sequently they  returned  with  pistols  and  shot  the 
eagles,  which  resented  this  trifling  impertinence  by 
tearing  the  treasure-seekers  in  a  shocking  manner. 
After  having  recovered  from  their  wounds,  the 
determined  Welshmen  renewed  the  attack  —  this 
time  with  silver  bullets,  which  they  had  got  blessed 
by  a  good-natured  priest.  The  bullets  rattled 
harmlessly  on  the  feathers  of  the  terrible  birds ; 
the  ground  shook  under  foot ;  rain  descended  in 
torrents  ;  with  their  great  wings  the  eagles  beat  out 
the  gold-hunters'  torches,  and  they  barely  escaped 
with  their  lives. 

VII. 

The  shadowy  Horror  which  keeps  vigil  over  these 
hidden  treasures  is  now  a  dragon,  again  a  raven  or 
an  eagle,  again  a  worm.  In  the  account  of  the 
treasure-seeker  of  Nantyglyn,  it  is  a  winged  creature 
of  unknown  nature,  a  'mysterious  Incubus,*  which 


392' 


British  Goblins. 


broods  over  the  chest  in  the  cave.  The  terrible 
Crocodile  of  the  Lake,  which  was  drawn  from  its 
watery  hiding-place  by  the  Ychain  Banog,  or  Pro- 
minent Oxen  of  Hu  Gadarn,  is  also  sometimes  called 
a  dragon  (draig)  in  those  local  accounts  which  sur- 
vive in  the  folk-lore  of  several  different  districts. 
It  infested  the  region  round  about  the  lake  where 
it  lay  concealed,  and  the  mighty  oxen  so  strained 
themselves  in  the  labour  of  drawing  it  forth  that 
one  of  them  died  and  the  other  rent  the  mountain 
in  twain  with  his  bellowing.  Various  legends  of 
Sleeping  Warriors  appear  in  Welsh  folk-lore,  in 
which  the  dragon  is  displaced  by  a  shadowy  army 
of  slumbering  heroes,  lying  about  in  a  circle,  with 
their  swords  and  shields  by  their  sides,  guarding 
great  heaps  of  gold  and  silver.  Now  they  are  Owen 
Lawgoch  and  his  men,  who  lie  in  their  enchanted 
sleep  in  a  cavern  on  the  northern  side  of  Mynydd 
Mawr,  in  Carmarthenshire ;  again  they  are  Arthur 
and  his  warriors,  asleep  in  a  secret  ogof  under 
Craig-y-Ddinas,  waiting  for  a  day  when  the  Briton 
and  the  Saxon  shall  go  to  war,  when  the  noise  of 
the  struggle  will  awaken  them,  and  they  will  re- 
conquer the  island,  reduce  London  to  dust,  and 
re-establish  their  king  at  Caerleon,  in  Monmouth- 
shire. 

Dragon  or  demon,  raven  or  serpent,  eagle  or 
sleeping  warriors,  the  guardian  of  the  underground 
vaults  in  Wales  where  treasures  lie  is  a  personifica- 
tion of  the  baleful  influences  which  reside  in  caverns, 
graves,  and  subterraneous  regions  generally.  It  is 
something  more  than  this,  when  traced  back  to  its 
source  in  the  primeval  mythology ;  the  dragon 
which  watched  the  golden  apples  of  Hesperides,  and 
the  Payshtha-more,  or  great  worm,  which  in  Ireland 
guards  the  riches  of  O'Rourke,  is  the  same  mala- 


Bells,    Wells,   S tones ^  and  Dragons.         393 

rious  creature  which  St.  Samson  drove  out  of  Wales. 
According  to  the  monkish  legend,  this  pestiferous 
beast  was  of  vast  size,  and  by  its  deadly  breath  had 
destroyed  two  districts.  It  lay  hid  in  a  cave,  near 
the  river.  Thither  went  St.  Samson,  accompanied 
only  by  a  boy,  and  tied  a  linen  girdle  about  the  crea- 
ture s  neck,  and  drew  it  out  and  threw  it  headlong 
from  a  certain  high  eminence  into  the  sea.-^  This 
dreadful  dragon  became  mild  and  gentle  when  ad- 
dressed by  the  saint ;  did  not  lift  up  its  terrible 
wings,  nor  gnash  its  teeth,  nor  put  out  its  tongue  to 
emit  its  fiery  breath,  but  suffered  itself  to  be  led  to 
the  sea  and  hurled  therein.^  In  the  '  Mabinogion,' 
the  dragon  which  fights  in  Lludd's  dominion  is  men- 
tioned as  a  plague,  whose  shriek  sounded  on  every 
May  eve  over  every  hearth  in  Britain  ;  and  it  *  went 
through  people's  hearts,  and  so  scared  them,  that  the 
men  lost  their  hue  and  their  strength,  and  the  women 
their  children,  and  the  young  men  and  maidens  lost 
their  senses.'^  'Whence  came  the  red  dragon  of 
Cadwaladr?'  asks  the  learned  Thomas  Stephens.^ 
'  Why  was  the  Welsh  dragon  in  the  fables  of  Merddin, 
Nennius,  and  Geoffrey,  described  as  red,  while  the 
Saxon  dragon  was  white  f  The  question  may  re- 
main long  unanswered,  for  the  reason  that  there  is 
no  answer  outside  the  domain  of  fancy,  and  there- 
fore no  reason  which  could  in  our  day  be  accepted 
as  reasonable.^  The  Welsh  word  *  dragon '  means 
equally  a  dragon  and  a  leader  in  war.  Red  was  the 
most  honourable  colour  of  military  garments  among 

^  '  Liber  Landavensis,'  301.  '  Ibid.,  347. 

3  '  Mabinogion,'  461.  *  *  Literature  of  the  Kymry,'  25. 

^  Mr.  Conway,  in  his  erudite  chapter  on  the  Basilisk,  appears  to 
think  that  the  red  colour  of  the  Welsh  dragon,  in  the  legend  of  Merlin 
and  Vortigern,  determines  its  moral  character ;  that  it  illustrates  the 
evil  principle  in  the  struggle  between  right  and  wrong,  or  light  and 
darkness,  as  black  does  in  the  Persian  legends  of  fighting  serpents.— 
*  Demonology  and  Devil- Lore,'  p.  369.  (London,  Chatto  and  Windus, 
1879.) 


394  British  Goblins. 


the   British   in   Arthur's  day ;    and   Arthur  wore   a 
dragon  on  his  helmet,  according  to  tradition. 

His  haughty  helmet,  horrid  all  with  gold, 
Both  glorious  brightness  and  great  terror  bred, 

For  all  the  crest  a  dragon  did  enfold 
With  greedy  paws.  ^ 

But  the  original  dragon  was  an  embodiment  o 
mythological  ideas  as  old  as  mankind,  and  older 
than  any  written  record.  The  mysterious  beast  of 
the  boy  Taliesin's  song,  in  the  marvellous  legend  of 
Gwion  Bach,  is  a  dragon  worthy  to  be  classed  with 
the  gigantic  conceptions  of  the  primeval  imagination, 
which  sought  by  these  prodigious  figures  to  explain 
all  the  phenomena  of  nature.  '  A  noxious  creature 
from  the  rampart  of  Satanas,'  sings  Taliesin  ;  with 
jaws  as  wide  as  mountains ;  in  the  hair  of  its  two 
paws  there  is  the  load  of  nine  hundred  waggons,  and 
in  the  nape  of  its  neck  three  springs  arise,  through 
which  sea-roughs  swim.^ 

VIII. 

For  the  prototype  of  the  dragon-haunted  caves 
and  treasure-hills  of  Wales,  we  must  look  to  the 
lightning  caverns  of  old  Aryan  fable,  into  which  no 
man  might  gaze  and  live,  and  which  were  in  fact 
the  attempted  explanation  of  thunderstorms,  when 
the  clouds  appeared  torn  asunder  by  the  lightning. 

Scholars  have  noted  the  impressive  fact  that  the 
ancient  Aryan  people  had  the  same  name  for  cloud 
and  mountain ;  in  the  Old  Norse,  '  klakkr '  means 
both  cloud  and  rock,  and  indeed  the  English  word 
cloud   has   been   identified   with   the   Anglo-Saxon 

*  cltid,'  rock.^  Equally  significant  here  is  the  fact  that 
in  the  Welsh  language  *  draig '  means  both  lightning 
and  dragon. 

^  Spenser,  '  Faerie  Queene.'  ^  <  Mabinogion,'  484. 

3  Max   Miiller,   '  Rig- Veda,'  i.   44.      And   see  Mr.  Baring- Gould's 

*  Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle  Ages,'  etc. 


1 


Bells^   Wells,  Stones,  and  Dragons.         395 

Primeval  man,  ignorant  that  the  cloud  was  in 
any  way  different  in  structure  from  the  solid 
mountains  whose  peaks  it  emulated  in  appearance, 
started  back  aghast  and  trembling  when  with 
crashing  thunders  the  celestial  rocks  opened,  dis- 
playing for  an  instant  the  glowing  cavern  whose 
splendour  haunted  his  dreams.  From  this  pheno- 
menon, whose  goblins  modern  science  has  tamed 
and  taught  to  run  errands  along  a  wire,  came  a 
host  of  glittering  legends,  the  shining  hammer  of 
Thor,  the  lightning  spear  of  Odin,  the  enchanted 
arrow  of  Prince  Ahmed,  and  the  forked  trident  of 
Poseidon,  as  well  as  the  fire-darting  dragons  of 
our  modern  folk-lore. 


^1 


INDEX. 


A. 

Aberdovey,  the  Bells  of,  339,  344  j 
Aderyn  y  Corph,  the,  212 

All  Fools'  Day,  274  j 

All  Hallows,  280  J 

Alluring  Stone,  the,  367  ; 
American  Ghost  Stories,  139,  185 

Angels,  Apparitions  of,  208  1 

Animals'  Terrors  at  Goblins,  171  j 

Annwn,  the  World  of  Shadows,  7,  34  i 

Antic  Spirits,  180  , 

Aphrodite,  the  Welsh,  350  i 

Apple  Gift,  the,  253  | 

Arian  y  Rhaw,  333  1 

Arthur,  the  Mythic  and  the  Historic,  vii.  ! 

Arthur's  Dog,  363  ' 
„       Pot,  369 

„       Quoits,  370  I 

„       Round  Table,  369                                                            "  i 

„       Seat,  Bed,  Castle,  Stone,  etc.,  369  i 

Ascension  Day,  Curious  Superstition  concerning,  25  I 

Aura,  the  Human,  its  Perception  by  Dogs,  172  j 

Avagddu,  219 

Avalon,  8  1 

B.  -j 

Ball-playing  in  Churchyards,  272  i 
Bangu,  the,  340 

Banshee,  the,  212  ] 

„         ,,    in  America,  247  ^ 

Banwan  Bryddin,  the  Stone  of,  374  ■ 

Barnwell,  Rev.  E.  L.,  cited,  324  ^ 

Baron's  Gate,  Legend  of  the,  127  ■ 


398 


Index, 


Barry  Island,  Mysterious  Noises  on,  353 
Basilisks  in  Mines,  27 
Beer-drinking  at  Funerals,  32 2 
Bells,  Superstitions  concerning,  339 

„    of  Aberdovey,  339,  344 

„     „  St.  Cadoc,  339 
U   „     „  Rhayader,  Legend  of  the,  41 

„     „  St.  llltyd,  342 

„     „  St.  Oudoceus,  343 
Beltane  Fires,  278 
Bendith  y  Mamau,  12 
Betty  Griffith  and  the  Fairies,  115 
Birds  of  Rhiannon,  the,  91 
Blabbing,  Penalty  of,  119 
Black  Book  of  Carmarthen,  the,  350 

„      Maiden  of  Caerleon,  the,  219 

„      Man  of  Ffynon  yr  Yspryd,  178 

,,      Men  in  the  Mabinogion,  178 
Blue  Petticoat,  Old  Elves  of  the,  132 
Bogie,  the,  32 
Boxing  Day,  295 
Bran  wen.  Daughter  of  Llyr,  91 
Bread  and  Cheese  in  Fairy  Mythology,  44 
Brownie,  the,  186 
Bundling,  or  Courting  Abed,  300 
Buns,  267 

Burial  Customs,  321 
Bush  of  Heaven,  Legend  of  the,  73 
Bute,  the  Marquis  ofj  cited,  136 
Bwbach,  the,  30 

„        and  the  Preacher,  the,  30 


Cadogan's  Ghost,  149 

Cadwaladr's  Goat,  the  Legend  of,  54 

Cae  Caled,  the  Dwarfs  of,  28 

Cae  Mawr,  the  Mowing  of,  61 

Caerau,  the  Woman  of,  239 

Caerphilly,  the  Green  Lady  of,  132 

Calan  Ebrill,  274 

Can  y  Tylwyth  Teg,  the,  99 

Canna's  Stone,  362 

Canrig  Bwt,  the  Legend  of,  368 

Canwyll  Corph,  the,  238 


Index.  399 


► 


Caradoc  the  Bloody,  348 
Caridwen's  Caldron,  88 
Carols,  288 
Carrying  the  Kings,  276 

„         Cynog,  279 

„        Mortals  through  the  Air,  157,  163 
Castell  Coch,  the  Eagles  of,  390 

Correg,  380 
Catrin  Gwin,  the  Legend  of,  144 
Catti  Shon,  the  Witch  of  Pencader,  77 
Cavern  of  Ravens,  the,  389 
Ceifyl  Pren,  the,  3 1 9 
Chained  Spirit,  the,  168 
Chaining  at  Weddings,  313 
Changelings,  56 

Cheese  in  Welsh  Fairy  Tales,  44 
Christmas  Observances,  286 
Classification  of  Fairies,  1 1 
„  „    Ghosts,  141 

„  „   Customs,  252 

Coblynau,  24 
Cock-crow,  Fairy  Dislike  of,  112 

„  a  Death  Omen  when  Untimely,  213 

ColUers'  Star,  the,  294 
Colour  in  Fairy  Costume,  131 
Compacts  with  the  Diawl,  202 
Conway,  Mr.,  cited,  393 
Coolstrin,  the,  317 
Corpse,  an  Insulted,  146 

„        Bird,  the,  212  . 

„       Candle,  the,  238 
Courting  Abed,  300 
Courtship  and  Marriage,  298 
Craig  y  Ddinas,  a  Fairy  Haunt,  6 
Criminals'  Graves,  Superstitions  concerning,  -^t, i 
Crocodile  of  the  Lake,  the,  392 
Cromlechs,  Superstitions  concerning,  379 

„  Legendary  Names  of,  381 

Cross-roads,  Stones  at,  368 
Crown  of  Porcelain,  the,  269 
Crumlyn  Lake,  Legend  of,  35 
Curiosity  Tales,  86 
Cursing  Wells,  355 

Customs,  Superstitious  and  Traditional,  250 
Cutty  Wren,  the,  257 


400 


Index. 


Cwm  Llan,  the  Shepherds  of,  121 

Cwm  Pwca,  Breconshire,  20 

Cwn  Annwn,  233 

Cwn  y  Wybyr,  233 

Cyhyraeth,  the,  219 

„  of  St.  Mellons,  the,  221 

„  „  the  Sea-coast,  the,  221 

D. 

Dancing-Stones  of  Stackpool^  the,  375 
Dancing  in  Churchyards,  273 

„        with  Fairies,  70 
Death  Portents,  212 
Devil,  when  Invented,  210 

„      as  a  Famihar  Spirit,  197 

„      exorcising  the,  199 

„      in  his  Customary  Form,  202 

„      measured  for  a  Suit  of  Clothes,  202 

„      his  Stupidity,  202 

„      as  a  Bridge-builder,  206 

„      at  Tintern  Abbey,  207 

„      and  the  Foul  Pipe,  a  Legend,  204 
Devil's  Bridge,  Legends  of  the,  205 

„       Nags,  the,  170 

„       Pulpit,  the,  207 

„       Stone  at  Llanarth,  the,  378 
Dewi  Dal  and  the  Fairies,  61 
Didactic  Purpose  in  Welsh  Fairy  Tales,  44 

„  „  „       Spirits,  145 

Dissenters,  Fairy  Antipathy  to,  6 
Divination,  302 
Dog  of  Darkness,  the,  168 
Dogs  of  the  Fairies,  234 

„     „  Hell,  233 

„     „  the  Sky,  233 

„     Fetichistic  Notions  of,  172 

„     Ghosts  of,  167 
Dracae,  47 
Dragons,  391 
Dreams  of  Flying,  164 
Dniidic  Fires,  278 
Druids,  Fairies  Hiding,  129 
Duffryn  House,  the  Ghost  of,  143 
Duty-compelled  Ghosts,  146 


Index.  401 


Dwarfs,  27  \ 

Dwynwen,  the  Welsh  Venus,  299,  350  i 

Dyfed,  the  Ancient,  5 

j 

E.  I 

Early  Inscribed  Stones,  Superstitions  concerning,  373  i 

Easter  Customs,  269  \ 

Egg-shell  Pottage,  Story  of  the,  60  , 
Eisteddfodau,  293 

Eithin  Hedges,  a  Protection  against  Fairies,  115 

Elf  Queen,  the,  14  ] 

Elfin  Dames,  34  ] 

„     Cow,  the,  -^d  \ 

Elidurus,  the  Tale  of,  65  ' 

Ellylldan,  the,  18  "j 

EUyllon,  12  ; 

Elves,  13  I 

Enchanted  Harp,  the,  94  j 

Epimenides,  89  '■ 

Equestrian  Fairies,  107  i 

„          Ghosts,  174  I 

Eumenides,  12  i 

Euphemisms,  12,  114,  209  * 

Excalibur,  53  J 

Exorcism  of  Changelings,  57  \ 

„  Devils,  199  ] 

„         „  Fairies,  112,  116  i 

„         „  Ghosts,  165  i 

„         „  Child-stealing  Elves,  62  j 

Expanding  Stone,  the,  365  ; 

F.  \ 
Fair  Folk,  12  | 
Fairies,  existing  belief  in,  2  i 

„      King  of  the,  6  i 

„      Welsh  names  of,  12  ; 

„      at  Market,  9 

„      of  the  Mines,  24  \ 

,,      of  the  Lakes,  34 

„      of  the  Mountains,  49  \ 

„      Dancing  with,  70  ■ 

,,      of  Frennifawr,  Legend  of  the,  82  "\ 

„      on  Horseback,  107 

„      the  Red,  127 

„      hiding  Druids,  129  \ 


Index. 


Fairies,  why  in  Wales,  132 

„      their  Origin,  127 

„      Bad  Spirits,  133 

„      on  famiUar  terms  with  Ghosts,  157 
„      of  the  Cromlechs,  380 
Fairy  Land,  5 

„     Queen,  14 

„     Islands,  8,  45 

„     Food,  13 

„     Gloves,  13 

„     Coal-mining,  27 

„     Father,  the,  45 

„     a,  captured  by  a  Welshwoman,  78 

„     Song,  99 

„     Rings,  103 

„     Conversations,  106 

„     Battle,  a,  107 

„     Animals,  108 

„     Sheepfold,  the,  109 

„     Gifts,  119 

„     Tales,  debris  of  Ancient  Mythology,  135 
Falling  of  Coy  church  Tower,  386 
Familiar  Spirits,  187 

„  „      in  Female  Form,  191 

Family  Ghosts,  142 
Fatal  Draught,  the,  83 
Fetches,  215 
Fetichism,  338 

Fetichistic  Notions  of  Lower  Animals,  171 
Ffarwel  Ned  Pugh,  99 
Ffynon  yr  Yspryd,  178 
Ffynon  Canna,  362 
Fiend  Master,  Legend  of  the,  86 
Fire-damp  Goblins,  27 
Fires,  Mysterious,  213 
First  Foot  on  New  Year's  Day,  254 
First  Night  of  Winter,  280 
Flowering  Sunday,  266 
Food  at  Funerals,  322 
Forest  of  the  Yew,  Legend  of  the,  73 
Foul  Pipe,  Story  of  the,  204 
Fountain  of  Venus,  the,  350 
Fountains  Flowing  with  Milk,  356 
Fourth  of  July,  278 
Frennifawr,  the  Fairies  of,  82 


Index.  403  j 

_     _         __  _  ^ 

Friday,  its  Bad  Reputation,  268  ! 

Frugal  Meal,  Legend  of  the,  58 
Funeral  Customs,  321 

„        the  Goblin,  231 
Future  Life,  the  Question  of  a,  247 
Fuwch  Gyfeiliorn,  the,  36 

•  1 
G. 

Gallery  under  the  Sea,  10  \ 

Gast  Rhymhi,  the  Legend  of,  381  .  i 

Ghosts,  Existing  Belief  in,  137 
„       in  America,  139 

„        Classification  of,  141  ! 

„       with  a  Duty  to  Perform,  146 
„       of  Ebbw  Vale,  142 

„       on  Horseback,  154,  174  ; 

„       Exorcising,  165 

„       of  Animals,  167  ■ 

„       Grotesque,  174 

„       Gigantic,  176  \ 

„       their  Origin,  247  \ 

of  Bells,  339  ' 

„       Stories  of —  ! 

The  Weaver's  Ghost,  147  *  j 

Cadogan's  Ghost,  149  \ 

The  Ghost  of  Ystradgynlais,  157 

The  Admiral's  Ghost,  143  i 

The  Miser's  Ghost,  152 
The  Ghost  of  St.  Donats,  143 

The  Pont  Cwnca  Bach  Ghost,  144  ' 

The  Ghost  of  Noe,  147  \ 

Anne  Dewy's  Ghost,  153  *  | 

The  Chfford  Castle  Ghost,  155 

The  Ghost  of  Ty'n-y-Twr,  155  j 

The  Ghost  of  the  Silver  Spurs^  156  { 

The  Tridoll  Valley  Sprite,  181  \ 

The  Mynyddyslwyn  Sprite,  187  , 

Giants,  370  : 

Giants'  Dance,  the,  371  \ 

Gigantic  Ghosts,  176  \ 

Giraldus  Cambrensis,  65  \ 

Gitto  Bach,  the  Legend  of,  119  \ 

Gnomes,  24  | 

Goats,  Strange  Beliefs  concerning,  53  j 

2D  ■) 


404 


hidex. 


Gobelin,  the  French,  32 
Goblin  Animals,  167 

„      Funerals,  231 
God's  Name  as  an  Exorcism,  112 

„  „      in  the  Bardic  Traditions,  209 

Good  Friday  Customs,  266 
Good  Old  Times,  the,  252 
Grassless  Grave,  Legend  of  the,  331 
Green  Lady  of  Caerphilly,  the,  132 

„      Meadows  of  the  Sea,  8 
Groaning  Spirits,  222 
Grotesque  Ghosts,  174 
Guest,  Lady  Charlotte,  5 
Guy  Fawkes  Day  Customs,  284 
Gwahoddwr,  the,  307 
Gwenfrewi,  Legend  of,  347 
Gwerddonau  Llion,  8 
Gwion  Bach  (Taliesin),  88,  394 
Gwrach  y  Rhibyn,  the,  216 
Gwragedd  Annwn,  the,  34 
Gwraig  of  the  Golden  Boat,  the,  41 
Gwydion,  the  Wizard  Monarch,  5 
Gwyllgi,  the,  168 
Gwyllion,  49 
Gwyn  ap  Nudd,  6,  372 

H. 

Hafod  Lwyddog,  Legend  of,  124 
Hallow  E'en  Customs,  280 
Hares,  Mythological  Details,  162 
Harp  Music  among  Welsh  Fairies,  94 
Haunted  Bridge,  the,  144 

„        Castles  and  Houses,  143 

„        Margaret,  165 
Headless  Horse,  the,  216 
Hecate,  49 
Hermes,  236 
Hidden  Treasures  and  Perturbed  Ghosts,  151 

,,  „         Dragon-Guarded,  386 

Hobgoblin,  32 

Holy  Thursday,  Superstition  concerning,  25,  268 
Horse-Weddings,  310 
Hot-cross  Buns,  267 
Household  Fairy,  the,  31 
Howel  Dda,  298 


Index.  405 


I.  \ 

I 

Iago  ap  Dewi's  Seven  Years'  Absence,  88  J 

lanto  Llewellyn  and  the  Fairies,  123  i 

Idris  the  Giant,  370  •• 

Incubus,  193  : 
Inscribed  Stones,  Superstitious  Dread  of,  373 
lolo  ap  Hugh,  the  Legend  of,  99 
Islands,  the  Enchanted,  8 

J-  ! 

Jack-muh-Lantern,  18  , 

Jennet  Francis  and  the  Fairy  Child-Stealers,  62  j 

John  the  Red  Nose,  258  1 

Jones,  the  Prophet,  104  ' 

Juan  White,  the  Spirit  of,  50  ■                        \ 


K. 


I 


Knife,  Exorcism  by  the,  52 
Knockers  in  Mines,  24 
Kobolds,  29 


Lady  of  the  Fountain,  178,  385 

„         ,,      Wood,  Legend  of  the,  1 93 
Lake  Fairies,  34 
Lang,  A.,  cited,  197 
Language  of  the  Fairies,  106 
Lapse  of  Time  under  Enchantment,  89 
Laws  of  the  Welsh  Spirit-World,  148 
Leek,  Wearing  of  the,  260 
Lenten  Customs,  266 
Levitation  of  Mortals,  157,  163 
Levy  Dew,  255 
Lies^  the  Tump  of,  273 
Lifting  at  Easter,  269 
Lightning  Caverns,  394 
Linen,  its  Ancient  Value,  133 
Listening  at  the  Church  Door,  214 
Lisworney  Crossways,  the  Legend  of,  169 
Living  with  Fairies,  65 
Llandaff  Gwrach  y  Rhibyn,  the,  217 
Llechlafar  Stone,  364 
Lledrith,  the,  215 
Llwyd  the  Magician,  159,  191 

2    D    2 


fl 


406  Index, 

Llwyn  y  Nef,  the  Bush  of  Heaven,  72 

Llyn  Barfog,  the  Fairy  Maiden  of,  36 
„     y  Dywarchen,  the  Lady  of,  44 
„     y  Fan  Fach,  the  Sirens  of,  38 
„     Glas,  the  Shepherd  of,  124 
„     y  Morwynion,  the  Maidens'  Lake,  47 

Logan  Stones,  Superstitions  concerning,  378 

Lord  and  Beggar,  Legend  of  the,  230 

Love  Charms,  302 

Lucky  Days,  268 

Lukis,  J.  W.,  cited,  3,  380 

Luther  and  the  ChangeUng,  5  7 


M. 

Mab,  14 

Mabinogion,  the,  5,  14,  91 

Magic  Carpet,  164 

„      Harp,  95 
Maidens'  Lake,  the,  47 
Maid's  Trick,  the,  302 
Making  Christ's  Bed,  267 
Mallt  y  Nos,  the,  215 
Marget  yr  Yspryd,  165 
Mari  Lwyd,  the,  256 
Marketing  on  Tombstones,  280 
Marriage  Customs,  306 
Mayday  Customs,  274 
Meddygon  Myddfai,  Legend  of  the,  38 
Melerius,  the  Legend  of,  192 
Melusina,  the  Welsh,  381 
Memorials  of  Arthur,  369 
Men  of  Ardudwy,  the  Legend  of  the,  47  \ 

Merlin  the  Enchanter,  as  a  Stone  Remover,  371 

„         „  „  and  the  Red  Dragon,  393 

„      an  Early  Myth,  viii.  i 

Mermaids,  35,  47  \ 

Merthyr,  the  Rector  of,  cited,  3 
Methodists  Banishers  of  Fairies,  6 
Mid-Lent  Sunday,  266 
Midsummer  Eve,  277 
Milford  Haven,  the  Fairies  at,  9 
Milk  from  Fountains,  356 
Milk-white  Milch  Cow,  Legend  of  the,  37 
Mine  Goblins,  24 


Index.                                  407  \ 

\ 
. I 

I 

Miners  Wraith,  the,  215  .| 

Mirage,  173  - 

Moel  Arthur,  the  Treasure-Chest  of,  388  ; 

Moelfre  Hill,  the  Women  of,  376  '\ 

Mol  Walbec  the  Giantess,  370  . 

Monacella's  Lambs,  162  ; 

Money  thrown  in  Wells,  354  i 
Morgan,  Born  of  the  Sea,  47 

Morgana,  7  '] 

Mothering  Sunday,  266                                                                          -  \ 

Mountain  Ash,  the  Three  Rods  of,  210  \ 

„          the  Old  Woman  of  the,  49  \ 

Mourning  in  Lent,  266  j 

Music  in  Welsh  Fairy  Tales,  91,  98  1 

Myfyr  Morganwg,  277  i 

Mystic  Wells,  345  • 

.   N.  ; 

Nadolig,  286 

Names  of  Welsh  Fairies,  1 2  ' 

Nant  yr  Ellyllon,  79  i 

Narberth  in  Mythic  Story,  198,  234  1 

New  Year's  Day  Customs,  252 

Night  Fiend,  the,  215  i 

Nights  for  Spirits,  the  Three,  280 

Nis,  the,  186 

Noises,  Mysterious,  on  Barry  Island,  353  .      j 

North  Wales,  Fairy  Land  in,  5  ] 

Nos  Calan  Gauaf,  280  ^ 

O.  ! 

Oaks,  Superstitions  concerning,  105  ; 

Odin's  Spear,  395  j 

Offrwm,  the,  332  .; 

Old  Woman  of  the  Mountain,  49  ! 

,,          ,,           „    Torrent,  216  ! 

Origins  of  Fairies,  127  ; 

„       „  the  Devil,  210  j 
„       _,,  Death  Omens,  245 

„       „   Customs,  251  \ 

„       „  Spirits,  247  ] 

„       „  Mystic  Well  Superstitions,  359  \ 

„       „  Superstitions  regarding  Stones,  -t^^t^  j 

„       „  Dragons,  395  \ 

Owen  Lawgoch  and  his  Enchanted  Men,  392 

Owl's  Screech  a  Death  Omen,  213  " 


4o8 


Index, 


P. 

Palm  Sunday  Customs,  266 

Pant  Shon  Shenkin,  the  Legend  of,  75 

Pant-y-Madoc,  theGwyllgi  of,  170 

Pant-y-Saer,  the  Treasure-Hunter  of,  389 

Parc-y-Big\vrn,  the  Cromlech  of,  382 

Parson's  Penny,  332 

Pebble-Tossers,  Gigantic,  370 

Pembrokeshire  a  Land  of  Mystery,  10 

Peredur,  the  Legend  of,  202,  366 

Phantom  Horseman,  the,  174 

,,         Ships  and  Islands,  173  ^, 

Pigmies,  24 

Pins  in  Enchantment,  354 

Place  of  Strife,  the  Legend  of  the,  59 

Plant  Annwn,  34 

Planting  Weeds  on  Graves,  298 

„        Flowers  on  Graves,  299,  336 

Plentyn-newid,  the,  56 

Plygain,  the,  294 

Poetico-Religious  Theory  of  Fairies'  Origin,  1 34 

Polly  Williams  and  the  Fairies,  81 

Polyphemus,  the  Welsh,  179,  202 

Pontypridd,  Druidic  Ceremonies  at,  277 

Preacher  and  Bwbach,  the,  30 

Prolific  Woman,  Legend  of  the,  133 

Pronunciation  of  Welsh  Words,  Preface 

Propitiation  of  Goblins,  12,  114 

Psyche,  86 

Puck,  the  Welsh,  20 

Puzzling  Jug,  the,  283 

Pwca  'r  Trwyn,  Account  of,  187 

iy  J,       chastises  a  Servant  Girl,  22 

„  „       travels  in  a  Jug,  118 

J,  },      a  Proscribed  Noble,  128 

f,  „      was  it  a  Fairy,  190 

Pwyll,  Prince  of  Dyved,  234 


Quintain,  the,  284,  313 
Quoits,  Arthur's,  370 


Q. 


R. 


Ravens,  Cave  of  the,  389 

Realistic  Theory  of  Fairies'  Origin,  129 


Index.  409 


\ 


Red  Book  of  Hergest  (Llyfr  Coch),  5  j 

„     Fairies,  the,  127  j 

„     Lady  of  Paviland,  the,  386  j 

Rhamanta,  302  = 

Rhitta  Gawr,  the  Giant,  372  i 

Rhys  and  Llewellyn,  the  Story  of,  71  : 

Rice  at  Weddings,  314  \ 

Richard  the  Tailor,  160  ! 

Rip  Van  Winkle,  the  Original  of,  89  ^ 
Robber's  Stone,  the,  376 
Rocking  Stone,  Superstitions  concerning,  378 

RowH  Pugh  and  the  Ellyll,  15  I 


Sabbath-breakers  Turned  to  Stone,  376 

Sacred  Wells,  345 

Sagranus  Stone,  the,  375 

Sailors'  Superstitions,  9 

St.  Barruc's  Well,  352 

St.  Ceyna,  the  Legend  of,  377 

St.  Clement's  Day,  284 

St.  Collen,  the  Legend  of,  7 

St.  Cynfran's  Well,  351 

St.  Cynhafal's  Well,  351 

St.  David  the  Introducer  of  Death  Portents  into  Wales,  245 

„        his  Day,  259 

„        his  Legendary  Character,  262 
St.  Dogmell's  Parish,  69,  273 
St.  Dwyn wen's  Well,  350 
St.  Elian's  Well,  355 
St.  George's  Well,  351 
St.  Gwenfrewi,  the  Legend  of,  347 
St.  Gwynwy's  Well,  353 
St.  Illtyd's  Well,  357 
St.  John's  Eve,  277 
St.  Mary's  Well,  346 
St.  Melangell's  Lambs,  162 
St.  Patrick  and  the  Elfin  Dames,  35  I 

„  a  Welshman,  264  \ 

his  Day,  264  ■ 

St.  Samson  and  the  Dragon,  392 

St.  Tegla's  Well,  329,  349  \ 

St.  Tydecho's  Blue  Stone,  367  | 

St.  Ulric's  Day,  279  I 

J 


Index. 


St.  Valentine's  Day,  259 

St.  Winifred's  Well,  346 

Salt  at  Funerals,  328 

Sanford's  Well,  358 

Scapegoat,  the,  329 

Science,  the  Marvels  of,  248 

Seeing  the  Sun  Dance,  273 

Serpents  Turned  to  Stones,  377 

Seven  Whistlers,  the,  213 

Sgilti  Yscawndroed,  the  Lightfooted,  164 

Shakspeare,  his  use  of  Welsh  Folk-Lore,  14,  44 

,,  his  Visit  to  Wales,  20 

Shepherds  of  Cwm  Llan,  the  Legends  of  the,  121 
Shoe-throwing,  314 
Shon  ap  Shenkin,  the  Story  of,  92 
Showmen's  Superstitions,  255 
Shrove  Tuesday,  265 
Shui  Rees  and  the  Fairies,  67 
Sin-eater,  the,  324 
Sion  Cent  the  Magician,  203 
Skulls,  145 
Sleeping  Saints,  the,  73 

„        Heroes,  Legends  of,  162,  392 
Snake  Stone,  the,  278 
Soul,  its  Future  Destiny,  249 
Souls  of  Dogs,  167 
Sowhng,  258 
Spade  Money,  333 
Spectral  Animals,  167 
Spirit  Fountain,  the,  178 

„     Life,  the  Question  of  a,  249 

„     Nights,  the  Three,  280 

„    World,  Laws  Governing  the  Welsh,  148 
Spirits'  Antics,  180 
Spiritual  Hunting  Dogs,  235 
Spiritualism,  139 

Spitting  at  the  Name  of  the  Devil,  209 
Stanley,  Hon.  W.  O.,  cited,  19,  115 
Stone-throwing  Spirits,  180,  185 
Stone-tossing  Giants,  370 
Stone- worship,  361 
Stone  of  Invisibility,  the,  365 

„     „  Remembrance,  the,  366 

„     „  Golden  Gifts,  the,  366 
Stones,  Curious  Superstitions  concerning,  361  J 


^ 


Index,  411 


Stones  at  Cross-roads,  368 

„       of  Healing,  367  \ 

Storms,  Baleful  Spirits  of,  385  i 
Stripping  the  Carpenter,  284 

Suicides,  Superstitions  concerning,  146,  331  '            \ 

Sul  Coffa,  335  j 

Summoning  Spirits,  199  ' 
Supernatural,  What  is  the,  248 

Superstition,  its  Degree  of  Prevalence,  138,  251  -i 

„           in  the  United  States,  139,  252  | 

Sweethearts'  Charms,  302  '^ 

T.  ; 

Taff's  Well,  358 

Taffy  ap  Sion,  the  Shoemaker's  Son,  Legend  of,  75 

Tailor  Magician  of  Glanbran,  the,  200  ' 

Taliesin,  the  Tale  of,  88 

„        his  Dragon,  394 
Talking  Stone,  the,  364 

Tan-wedd,  the,  213  j 

Teetotallers,  Fairy  Antipathy  to_,  6  I 

Teir-nos  Ysprydnos,  280  1 

Terrors  of  the  Brute  Creation  at  Apparitions,  171                                             i 

Teulu,  the,  231  ] 

Thief-catching  Stone,  the,  366      .  ; 
Thigh  Stone,  the,  363 

Thomas,  Rev.  Dr.,  cited,  300  \ 

Thor's  Hammer,  395  \ 

Three  Blows,  the  Story  of  the,  40  • 

„      Losses  by  Disappearance,  the,  9  ■ 

„      Nights  for  Spirits,  the,  280 
Throwing  at  Cocks,  265 

Thunder  and  Lightning  as  a  Death  Omen,  213  \ 

Toads  and  Warts,  352  , 

Tolaeth,  the,  225  i 

ToUing  the  Bell,  340  '\ 

Tooling,  258  ! 

Toriad  y  Dydd,  125  \ 

Transformation  of  Human  Beings  to  Animals,  167,  381                                    ^ 

»      .               »             »             Stone,  374,  376  \ 

Transportation  through  the  Air,  157,  163  \ 

Trichrug,  the  Giant  of,  371  i 

Tricking  the  Diawl,  203  i 

Tridoll  Valley  Ghost,  the,  181  j 

Tudur  of  Llangollen,  the  Story  of,  79  A 

2    E 


Index. 


Tump  of  Lies,  the,  273 
Twelfth  Night  Customs,  256 
Tylwyth  Teg,  the,  12 

Unknowable,  the,  138 
Unlucky  Days,  268 

Vale  of  Neath,  the,  its  Goblin  Fame,  6 
Vavasor  Powell  and  the  Devil,  198 
Veil,  the  Goblin,  232 
Venus,  the  Welsh,  299 

her  Well,  350 
Villemarque  cited,  58 

W. 

Walking  Barefoot  to  Church,  266 
Walking-stones,  363 
Warts,  351,  367 
Water  Maidens,  47 

„      Worship,  359 
Wedding  Customs,  306 
Wells,  Mystic,  345 
Wesley's  Belief  in  Apparitions,  141 
Whistlers,  the,  213 
Whistling  Gobhn,  the,  178 
White  as  a  Fairy  Colour,  132 

„      Catti  of  the  Grove  Cave,  144 
Whitening  Doorsteps  to  Keep  off  the  Devil,  207 
Wife  of  Supernatural  Race,  38 
Wild  Huntsman,  235 
WiU-o'-Wisp,  20 

Witches  Sleeping  under  Stones,  368 
Wonder  Stone  of  Banwan  Bryddin,  the,  374 
Wraiths,  215 

Y. 

YcHAiN  Banog,  the,  108,  392 
Yellow  Spot  before  Death,  the,  216 


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8 


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List  of  Publicattons, 


Echoes  of  the  Heart.     See  Moody. 

Elinor  Dry  den.     By  Mrs.  Macquoid.     Crown  8vo,  6^. 

English  Catalogue  of  Books  {The).  Published  during  1863  ^O 
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Eton.  See  "  Day  of  my  Life,"  "  Out  of  School,"  ''  About  Some 
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Evans  (C.)  Over  the  Hills  and  Far  Away.  By  C.  Evans. 
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Familiar  Letters  on  some  Mysteries  of  Nature.     See  Phipson. 

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Fern  Paradise  ( The):  A  Plea  for  the  Culture  of  Ferns.  By  F.  G. 
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lO 


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First  Ten  Years  of  a  Sailor's  Life  at  Sea.     By  the  Author  of 

**A11  About  Ships."     Demy  8vo,  Seventeen  full-page  Illustrations, 

480  pp.,  y.  6d. 
Ftammarion    (C.)     The    Atmosphere.      Translated    from    the 

French  of  Camille  Flammarion.     Edited  by  James  Glaisher, 

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cloth  extra,  30J. 
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Forrest's  Personal  Account  of  his  Journeys,     i  vol.,   demy  8vo, 

cloth,  with  several  Illustrations  and  3  Maps,  i6s. 
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Vermont  Vale.     ^s. 

Minnie's  Mission.     43". 

Little  Mercy,     ^s. 

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r^ AMES  of  Patience.     *S.?^  Cadogan. 

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Gentle  Life  (Queen  Edition).     2  vols,  in  i,  small  4to,  10^.  dd. 

THE     GENTLE    LIFE    SERIES. 

Price  6^.  each  ;  or  in  calf  extra,  price  loj-.  (>d. 
The  Gentle  Life.     Essays  in  aid  of  the  Formation  of  Character 
of  Gentlemen  and  Gentlewomen.     21st  Edition. 

"  Deserves  to  be  printed  in  letters  of  gold,  and  circulated  in  every  house." — 
Chambers^  Joumah 

About  in  the  World.     Essays  by  Author  of  "  The  Gentle  Life." 

"  It  is  not  easy  to  open  it  at  any  page  without  finding  some  handy  x^t^!"— Morn- 
ing Post. 


List  of  Publications.  1 1 


TTie  Gentle  Life  Series,  contifiued : — 

Like  unto  Christ.  A  New  Translation  of  Thomas  a  Kempis' 
"  De  Imitatione  Christi."  With  a  Vignette  from  an  Original  Drawing 
by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence.     2nd  Edition. 

*'  Could  not  be  presented  in  a  more  exquisite  form,  for  a  more  sightly  volume  was 
never  seen." — Illustrated  London  News. 

Familiar  Words.  An  Index  Verborum,  or  Quotation  Hand- 
book. Affording  an  immediate  Reference  to  Phrases  and  Sentences 
that  have  become  embedded  in  the  Enghsh  language.  3rd  and 
enlarged  Edition. 

"The  most  extensive  dictionary  of  quotation  we  have  met  with." — Notes  and 
Queries. 

Essays  by  Montaigne.  Edited  and  Annotated  by  the  Author 
of  "The  Gentle  Life."    With  Portrait.     2nd  Edition. 

"  We  should  be  glad  if  any  words  of  ours  could  help  to  bespeak  a  large  circula- 
tion for  this  handsome  attractive  book,"— ///«j^ra/^rf  Times. 

The  Countess  of  Fembroke^s  Arcadia.     Written  by  Sir  Philip 
Sidney.     Edited  with  Notes  by  Author  of  * '  The  Gentle  Life. "   ']s.  ed. 
"All  the  best  things  are  retained  intact  in  Mr.  Friswell's  edition." — Examiner. 

The  Gentle  Life.     2nd  Series,  8th  Edition. 

"  There  is  not  a  single  thought  in  the  volume  that  does  not  contribute  in  some 
measure  to  the  formation  of  a  true  gentleman." — Daily  News. 

Varia :  Readings  from  Rare  Books.  Reprinted,  by  permission, 
from  the  Saturday  Review^  Spectator^  &c. 

"  The  books  discussed  in  this  volume  are  no  less  valuable  than  they  are  rare,  and 
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The  Silent  Hour:    Essays,    Original   and  Selected.     By   the 
Author  of  *  *  The  Gentle  Life. "    3rd  Edition. 
"All  who  possess  'The  Gentle  Life  *  should  own  this  volume." — Standard. 

Half-Length  Portraits.      Short  Studies   of  Notable  Persons. 

By  J.  Hain  Friswell.     Small  post  8vo,  cloth  extra,  6s. 
Essays    on  English     Writers,   for    the    Self-improvement    of 

Students  in  English  Literature. 
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Other  People's  Windows.     By  J.  Hain  Friswell.     3rd  Edition. 

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human  nature,  so  full  of  illustrative  anecdotes,  that  the  reader  cannot  fail  to  be 
amused. " — Morning  Post. 

A  Man's  Thoughts,    By  J.  Hain  Friswell. 


German  Primer.     Being  an   Introduction  to   First  Steps  in 

German.     By  M.  T.  Preu.     2s.  6d. 
Getting  On  in  the   World ;  or,  Hints  on  Success  in  Life.     By 

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Gilliatt  [Rev.  E.)  On  the  Wolds.     2  vols.,  crown  8vo,  215-. 


12 


Sampson  Low,  Marsion,  &'  Go's 


Gilpin's  Forest  Scenery.  Edited  by  F.  G.  Heath,  i  vol., 
large  post  8vo,  with  numerous  Illustrations.  Uniform  with  "The 
Fern  World  "  and  ' *  Our  Woodland  Trees. "     \2s.  6d. 

Gordon  {/.  E.  H.).  See  "  Four  Lectures  on  Electric  Induc- 
tion," "  Practical  Treatise  on  Electricity,"  &c. 

Gouffe.  The  Royal  Cookery  Book.  By  Jules  Gouffe  ;  trans- 
lated and  adapted  for  English  use  by  Alphonse  Gouff£,  Head 
Pastrycook  to  her  Majesty  the  Queen.  Illustrated  with  large  plates 
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Domestic  Edition,  half-bound,  10s.  dd. 

"  By  far  the  ablest  and  most  complete  work  on  cookery  that  has  ever  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  gastronomical  world." — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 


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containing  upwards  of  500  Receipts  and  34  Illustrations,  los.  6d. 

Royal  Book  of  Pastry  and  Confectionery.     By  Jules 

G0UFF]£,  Chef-de-Cuisine  of  the  Paris  Jockey  Club.  Royal  Svo,  Illus- 
trated with  10  Chromo-lithographs  and  137  Woodcuts,  from  Drawings 
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Gouraud  {Mdlle.)  Four  Gold  Pieces.  Numerous  Illustrations. 
Small  post  Svo,  cloth,  2s.  6d.     See  also  Rose  Library. 

Government  of  M.  Thiers.  By  Jules  Simon.  Translated  from 
the  French.     2  vols.,  demy  Svo,  cloth  extra,  32.?. 

Gower  {Lord  Ronald)  Handbook  to  the  Art  Galleries ^  Public 
and  Private,  of  Belgium  and  Holland.     iSmo,  cloth,  5j-. 

The  Castle  Howard  Portraits.  2  vols.,  folio,  cl.  extra,  61. 6s. 

Greek  Grammar.     See  Waller. 

Guizofs  History  of  France.  Translated  by  Robert  Black. 
Super-royal  Svo,  very  numerous  Full-page  and  other  Illustrations.  In 
5  vols. ,  cloth  extra,  gilt,  each  24J. 

"  It  supplies  a  want  which  has  long  been  felt,  and  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  all 
students  of  history." — Times. 

"Three-fourths  of  M.  Guizot's  great  work  are  now  completed,  and  the  'History 
of  France,' which  was  so  nobly  planned,  has  been  hitherto  no  less  admirably  exe- 
cuted."— Front  long  Review  of  Vol.  III.  in  the  Times. 

"  M.  Guizot's  main  merit  is  this,  that,  in  a  style  at  once  clear  and  vigorous,  he 
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OHt  to  view  what  is  most  significant  and  instructive  in  the  spirit  of  the  age  described." 
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not  excepted."— T'jwM. 

Guillemin.     See  "  World  of  Comets." 

Guy  on  {Mde.)  Life.     By  Upham.     6th  Edition,  crown  Svo,  6s, 


List  of  Publications.  13 


Guyot  (A.)  Physical  Geography.  By  Arnold  Guyot,  Author 
of  "Earth  and  Man."  In  i  volume,  large  4to,  128  pp.,  numerous 
coloured  Diagrams,  Maps,  and  Woodcuts,  price  los.  6d. 

TTABITA  TIONS  of  Man  in  all  Ages.     See  Le-Duc. 

Hamilton  {A.  H.  A.,  J.P.)     See  "  Quarter  Sessions." 

Handbook  to  the  Charities  of  London.     See  Low's. 

Pi'i7icipal  Schools  of  England.     See  Practical. 

Half- Hours  of  Blind  Man's  Holiday  ;  or,  Summer  and  Winter 
Sketches  in  Black  &  White.     By  W.  W.  Fenn.     2  vols.,  cr.  8vo,  24J. 

Half-Length  Portraits.  Short  Studies  of  Notable  Persons. 
By  J.  Hain  Friswell.     Small  post  Svo,  cloth  extra,  6j-. 

HalliW.  W.)  How  to  Live  Long;  or,  1408  Health  Maxims^ 
Physical,  Mental,  and  Moral.  By  W.  W.  Hall,  A.M.,  M.D. 
Small  post  Svo,  cloth,  2.s.     Second  Edition. 

Hans  Prinker;  or,  the  Silver  Skates.    See  Dodge. 

Heart  of  Africa.  Three  Years'  Travels  and  Adventures  in  the 
Unexplored  Regions  of  Central  Africa,  from  1868  to  187 1.  By  Dr. 
Georg  Schweinfurth.  Translated  by  Ellen  E.  Frewer.  With 
an  Introduction  by  WiNWOOD  Reade.  An  entirely  New  Edition, 
revised  and  condensed  by  the  Author.  Numerous  Illustrations,  and 
large  Map.     2  vols.,  crown  8vo,  cloth,  1 5 j. 

Heath  (P.  G.).  See  "Fern  World,"  "Fern  Paradise,"  "Our 
Woodland  Trees,"  "  Trees  and  Ferns." 

Heber's  {Bishop)  Illustrated  Edition  of  Hymns.  With  upwards 
of  100  beautiful  Engravings.  Small  4to,  handsomely  bound,  ^s.  6d. 
Morocco,  i8j.  6d.  and  21s.     An  entirely  New  Edition. 

Hector  Servadac.  »S^<?  Verne.  The  heroes  of  this  story  were 
carried  away  through  space  on  the  Comet  "Gallia,"  and  their  ad- 
ventures are  recorded  with  all  Jules  Verne's  characteristic  spirit.  With 
nearly  100  Illustrations,  cloth  extra,  gilt  edges,  loj.  6^. 

Henderson  (A.)  Latin  Proverbs  and  Quotations;  with  Transla- 
tions and  Parallel  Passages,  and  a  copious  English  Index.  By  Alfred 
Henderson.     Fcap.  4to,  530  pp.,  loj.  6d. 

History  and  Handbook  of  Photography.  Translated  from  the 
French  of  Gaston  Tissandier.  Edited  by  J.  Thomson.  Imperial 
i6mo,  over  300  pages,  70  Woodcuts,  and  Specimens  of  Prints  by  the 
best  Permanent  Processes.  Second  Edition,  with  an  Appendix  by 
the  late  Mr.  Henry  Fox  Talbot,  giving  an  account  of  his  researches. 
Cloth  extra,  ds. 

History  of  a  Crime  {The)  ;  Deposition  of  an  Eye-witness.  B7 
Victor  Hugo.    4  vols.,  crown  Svo,  42J.    Cheap  Edition,  i  vol.,  6s, 


Eftglatid.     See  GuizoT. 
Prance.     See  Guizot. 
Russia,    See  Rambaud. 


14 


Sampson  Loiv^  Marston^  6^  Co^s 


History  of  Merchant  Shipping.     See  Lindsay. 

United  States.     See  Bryant. 

' Ireland.     By  Standish  O'Grady.    Vol.  I.  ready,  7^.  dd. 

• American   Literatwe.     By  M.   C.  Tyler.      Vols.    I. 

and  II.,  2  vols,  8vo,  24J. 
History  and  Principles  of  Weaving  hy  Hand  and  by  Power.  With 

several  hundred  Illustrations.     By  Alfred   Barlow.     Royal  8vo, 

cloth  extra,  i/.  5^. 
Hitherto.     By  the  Author  of  "  The  Gay worthys."    New  Edition, 

cloth  extra,  3J.  6d.     Also,  in  Rose  Library,  2  vols.,  2s. 
Hofmann  {Carl).    A  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Manufacture  oj 

Paper  in  all  its  Branches.     Illustrated  by  1 10  Wood  Engravings,  and  5 

large  Folding  Plates.     In  i  vol.,  4to,  cloth  ;  about  400  pp.,  3/.  13J.  6d. 
Home  of  theEddas.     By  C.  G.  Lock.     Demy  8vo,  cloth,  i6j. 
How  to  Build  a  House.     See  Le-Duc. 
How  to  Live  Long.     See  Hall. 

Hugo  ( Victor)   ''Nifiety-ThreeP     Illustrated.     Crown  Svo,  6^. 
Toilers  of  the  Sea.    Crown  Svo.    Illustrated,  6j'.  ;  fancy 

boards,   2s.  ;   cloth,  2s,  6d.  ;   On  large  paper  with  all  the   original 


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See  "  History  of  a  Crime.' 


Hundred  Greatest  Men  (  The) .  Eight  vols.  ,21^.  each.  See  below. 

"Messrs.  Sampson  Low  &  Co.  are  about  to  issue  an  important  *  International' 
work,  entitled,  'THE  HUNDRED  GREATEST  MEN;'  being  the  Lives  and 
Portraits  of  the  loo  Greatest  Men  of  History,  divided  into  Eight  Classes,  each  Class 
to  form  a  Monthly  Quarto  Volume.  The  Introductions  to  the  volumes  are  to  be 
written  by  recognized  authorities  on  the  different  subjects,  the  English  contributors 
being  Dean  Stanlky,  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold,  Mr.  Froude,  and  Professor  Max 
MUller:  in  Germany,  Professor  Helmholtz  ;  in  France,  MM.  Taine  and 
Renan  ;  and  in  America,  Mr.  Emerson.  The  Portraits  are  to  be  Reproductions 
from  fine  and  rare  Steel  EngTB.v'mgs."— Academy. 

Hunting,   Shooting,   and   Fishing;    A    Sporting    Miscellany. 

Illustrated.     Crown  Svo,  cloth  extra,  7j.  6^. 
Hymnal    Companion    to    Book    of    Common    Prayer.       See 

BiCKERSTETH. 


TLLUSTRATIONS    of    China    and    its    People.      By    J. 
•^      Thomson,  F.R.G.S.     Four  Volumes,  imperial  4to,  each  3/.  3 j. 
I7i  my  Indian  Garden.     By  Phil.  Robinson.    With  a  Preface 
^  by  Edwin  A  rnold,  M.  A. ,  C.  S.  I. ,  &c.    Crown  Svo,  limp  cloth,  y.  (yd. 
Irish    Bar.     Comprising    Anecdotes,    Bon-Mots,    and    Bio- 
graphical Sketches  of  the  Bench  and  Bar  of  Ireland.    By  J.  Roderick 
O'Flanagan,  Barrister-at-Law.     Crown  Svo,  12s.     Second  Edition. 

<>fACQ,UEMART  (A.)  History  of  the   Ceramic  Art:    De- 

J      scriptive  and  Analytical  Study  of  the  Potteries  of  all  Times  and  of 

all  Nations.       By  Albert  Jacquemart.      200  Woodcuts  by  H. 


List  of  Publications.  15 


Catenacci  and  J.  Jacquemart.  12  Steel-plate  Engravings,  and  1000 
Marks  and  Monograms.  Translated  by  Mrs.  Bury  Palliser.  In 
I  vol.,  super-royal  8vo,  of  about  700  pp.,  cloth  extra,  gilt  edges,  28j. 

"This  is  one  of  those  few  gift-books  which,  while  they  can  certainly  lie  on  a  table 
and  look  beautiful,  can  also  be  read  through  with  real  pleasure  and  profit." — Times. 

jy'ENNEDY'S  {Capt.  W.  R.)  Sporting  Adventures  in  the 
-'*■      Pacific.     With  Illustrations,  demy  8vo,  I Sj-. 


{Capt.  A.    W.   M.    Clark).      See   "To    the    Arctic 

Regions." 
Khedive's  Egypt  {The) ;  or,  The  old  House  of  Bondage  under 

New  Masters.     By  Edwin  de  Leon.     Illustrated.    Demy  8vo,  cloth 

extra.  Third  Edition,  \%s.     Cheap  Edition,  8j-.  6</. 
Kingston  (IV.  H.  G.).     See  ''Snow-Shoes." 
Child  of  the  Cavern. 

Tivo  Supercargoes. 

With  Axe  and  Rifle. 

Koldeivey  (Capt)  The  Second  North  German  Polar  Expedition 
in  the  Year  1869-70.  Edited  and  condensed  by  H.  W.  Bates. 
Numerous  Woodcuts,  Maps,  and  Chromo-lithographs.  Royal  8vo, 
cloth  extra,  i/.  i5j-. 

T  A DY  Silverdal^s  Sweetheart.     6s.     6*^^  Black. 

Land  of  Bolivar  (The)  ;  or,  War,  Peace,  and  Adventure  in  the 
Republic  of  Venezuela.  By  James  Mudie  Spence,  F.R.G.S., 
F.Z.S.  2  vols.,  demy  8vo,  cloth  extra,  with  numerous  Woodcuts  and 
Maps,  3 1  J.  (id.     Second  Edition. 

Landseer  Gallery  (The).  Containing  thirty-six  Autotype  Re- 
productions of  Engravings  from  the  most  important  early  works  of  Sir 
Edwin  Landseer.  With  a  Memoir  of  the  Artist's  Life,  and 
Descriptions  of  the  Plates.     Imperial  4to,  cloth,  gilt  edges,  2/.  2s. 

Le-Duc  ( V.)  How  to  build  a  House.  By  Viollet-le-Duc, 
Author  of  "The  Dictionary  of  Architecture,"  &c.  Numerous  Illustra- 
tions, Plans,  &c.     Medium  8vo,  cloth,  gilt,  I2j. 

Annals  of  a  Fortress.     Numerous   Illustrations   and 

Diagrams.    Demy  8vo,  cloth  extra,  15J. 

The   Habitations  of  Man    in    all    Ages.       By     E. 

ViOLLET-LE-Duc.  Illustrated  by  103  Woodcuts.  Translated  by 
Benjamin  Bucknall,  Architect.     8vo,  cloth  extra,  i6x. 

Lectures  on  Architecture.  By  Viollet-le-Duc.  Trans- 
lated from  the  French  by  Benjamin  Bucknall,  Architect.  In 
2  vols.,  royal  8vo,  3/.  3^.     Also  in  Parts,  \os.  6d.  each. 

• Mont  Blanc:  a   Treatise  on   its   Geodesical  and   Geo- 

logical  Constitution — its  Transformations,  and  the  Old  and  Modem 
state  of  its  Glaciers.  By  Eugene  Viollet-le-Duc.  With  120 
Illustrations.     Translated  by  B.  Bucknall.     i  vol.,  demy  8vo,  I4J-. 


r6 


Sampson  LoWy  Marston^  ^  Co.^s 


Le-Diic  (V.)  On  Restoration ;  with  a  Notice  of  his  Works  by 
Charles  Wethered.  Crown  8vo,  with  a  Portrait  on  Steel  of 
ViOLLET-LE-Duc,  cloth  extra,  is.  6d. 

Lenten  Meditations.  In  Two  Series,  each  complete  in  itself. 
By  the  Rev.  Claude  Bosanquet,  Author  of  "Blossoms  from  the 
King's  Garden."    i6mo,  cloth,  First  Series,  ls.(>d. ;  Second  Series,  2s. 

Lentils.     See  "  Food  for  the  People." 

Liesegang  {Dr.  Paul  E.)  A  Manual  of  the  Carbon  Process  of 
Photography.     Demy  8vo,  half-bound,  with  Illustrations,  4^. 

Life  and  Letters  of  the  Honourable  Charles  Sumner  {The). 
2  vols.,  royal  8vo,  cloth.  The  I^etters  give  full  description  of  London 
Society — Lawyers — ^Judges — Visits  to  Lords  Fitzwilliam,  Leicester, 
Wharncliffe,  Brougham — Association  with  Sydney  Smith,  Hallam, 
Macaulay,  Dean  Milman,  Rogers,  and  Talfourd  ;  also,  a  full  Journal 
which  Sumner  kept  in  Paris.     Second  Edition,  36^. 

Lindsay  {W.  S.)  History  of  Merchant  Shipping  and  Anciefit 
Commerce.  Over  150  Illustrations,  Maps  and  Charts.  In  4  vols., 
demy  8vo,  cloth  extra.     Vols,  i  and  2,  21s,  ;  vols.  3  and  4,  24^^.  each. 

Lion  Jack:  a  Sto7y  of  Perilous  Adventures  amongst  Wild  Men 
and  Beasts.  Showing  how  Menageries  are  made.  By  P.  T.  Barnum. 
With  Illustrations.     Crown  8vo,  cloth  extra,  price  6j. 

Little  King ;  or,  the  Taming  of  a  Young  Russian  Count.  By 
S.  Blandy.  Translated  from  the  French.  64  Illustrations.  Crown 
8vo,  cloth  extra,  gilt,  7^'.  dd. 

Little  Mercy  ;  or,  For  Better  for  Worse.  By  Maude  Jeanne 
Franc,  Author  of  "Marian,"  "Vermont  Vale,"  &c.,  &c.  Small 
post  8vo,  cloth  extra,  4J. 

Lofig  {Col.  C.  Chains)  Central  Africa.  Naked  Truths  of 
Naked  People  :  an  Account  of  Expeditions  to  Lake  Victoria  Nyanza 
and  the  Mabraka  Niam-Niam.   DemySvo,  numerous  Illustrations,  18^. 

Lord  Collingwood :  a  Biographical  Study.  By.  W.  Davis. 
With  Steel  Engraving  of  Lord  Collingwood.     Crown  8vo,  2s. 

Lost  Sir  Mas singberd.  New  Edition,  i6mo,  boards,  coloured 
wrapper,  2s. 

Lola's  German  Series — 

1.  The  Illustrated  German  Primer.   Being  the  easiest  introduction 

to  the  study  of  German  for  all  beginners,     is. 

2.  The  Children's  own  German  Book.     A  Selection  of  Amusing 

and  Instructive  Stories  in  Prose.  Edited  by  Dr.  A.  L.  Meissner, 
Professor  of  Modem  Languages  in  the  Queen's  University  in 
Ireland.     Small  post  8vo,  cloth,  is.  6d. 

3.  The   First    German  Header,    for   Children    from    Ten    to 

Fourteen.  Edited  by  Dr.  A.  L.  Meissner.  Small  post  Svo, 
cloth,  is.  6d. 

4.  The  Second  German  Reader.     Edited  by  Dr.  A.  L.  Meissner, 

Small  post  Svo,  cloth,  is.  6d. 


Ltst  of  Publications.  17 

Low's  German  Series^  contifttied : — 

Buchhewi's  Deutsche  Prosa.      Two  Volumes^  sold  separately. — 

5.  Schiller's  Prosa,     Containing  Selections  from  the  Prose  Works 

of  Schiller,  with  Notes  for  English  Students.  By  Dr.  Buchheim, 
Professor  of  the  German  Language  and  Literature,  King's 
College,  London.     Small  post  8vo,  2s.  6d. 

6.  Groethe's  Prosa.     Containing  Selections  from  the  Prose  Works  of 

Goethe,  with  Notes  for  English  Students.  By  Dr.  Buchheim. 
Small  post  8vo,  3^.  6d. 

Loiju's  Standard  Library  of  Travel  and  Adventure.     Crown  8vo, 
bound  uniformly  in  cloth  extra,  price  7^.  6d. 

1.  The  Great  Lone  Land.     By  W.  F.  Butler,  C.B. 

2.  The  Wild  North  Land.     By  W.  F.  Butler,  C.B. 

3.  How  I  found  Living-stone.    By  H.  M.  Stanley. 

4.  The  Threshold  of  the  Unknown  Beg-ion.     By  C.  R.  Mark- 

HAM.     (4th  Edition,  with  Additional  Chapters,  loj-.  6d.) 

5.  A  Whaling-  Cruise  to  Baflfin's  Bay  and  the  Gulf  of  Boothia. 

By  A.  H.  Markham, 

6.  Campaigning-  on  the  Oxus.     By  J.  A.  MacGahan. 

7.  Akim-foo :    the  History  of  a  Failure.      By  Major   W.   F. 

Butler,  C.B. 

8.  Ocean  to   Ocean.    By  the  Rev.   George  M.    Grant.     With 

Illustrations. 

9.  Cruise  of  the  Challeng-er.     By  W.  J.  J.  Spry,  R.N. 
iq.  Schweinfurth's  Heart  of  Africa.     2  vols.,  15^. 

Low's  Standard  Novels.     Crown  8vo,  6s.  each,  cloth  extra. 

Three  Feathers.     By  William  Black. 

A  Daug-hter  of  Heth.  13th  Edition.  By  W.  BLACK.  With 
Frontispiece  by  F.  Walker,  A.R.A. 

Kilmeny.     A  Novel.     By  W.  Black. 

In  Silk  Attire.     By  W.  Black. 

Lady  Silverdale's  Sweetheart.     By  W.  BLACK. 

Alice  Lorraine.     By  R.  D.  Blackmore. 

Lorna  Doone.     By  R.  D.  Blackmore.     8th  Edition. 

Cradock  Nowell.     By  R.  D.  Blackmore. 

Clara  Vaug-han.     By  R.  D.  Blackmore. 

Cripps  the  Carrier.     By  R.  D.  Blackmore. 

Innocent.     By  Mrs.  Oliphant.     Eight  Illustrations. 

Work.  A  Story  of  Experience,  By  Louisa  M.  Alcott.  Illustra- 
tions.    See  also  Rose  Library. 

A  French  Heiress  in  her  own  Chateau.  By  the  author  of  **  One 
Only,"  "Constantia,"  &c.     Six  Illustrations. 

Ninety-Three.     By  Victor  Hugo.     Numerous  Illustrations. 

My  Wife  and  I.     By  Mrs.  Beecher  Stowe. 

Wreck  of  the  Grosvenor.     By  W.  Clark  Russell. 

Elinor  Dryden.     By  Mrs.  Macquoid. 

Diane.     By  Mrs.  Macquoid. 


i8 


Sampson  Low,  Marston,  6^  Go's 


Low's  Handbook  to  the  Charities  of  London  for  i^'jc).  Edited 
and  revised  to  July,  1879,  by  C.  Mackeson,  F.S.S.,  Editor  of 
**  A  Guide  to  the  Churches  of  London  and  its  Suburbs,"  &c.     is. 


M- 


'ACGAHAN  {/.  A.)  Campaigning  on  the  Oxus,  and  the 

Fall  of  Khiva.     With  Map  and  numerous  Illustrations,  4th  Edition, 
small  post  8vo,  cloth  extra,  ^s.  6d. 

Under  the  Northern   Lights ;    or,    the    Cruise  of  the 

"  Pandora"  to  Peel's  Straits,  in  Search  of  Sir  John  Franklin's  Papers. 
"With  Illustrations  by  Mr.  De  Wylde,  who  accompanied  the  Expedi- 
tion.    Demy  Svo,  cloth  extra,  I  8j. 

Macgregor  {John)  ^^ Rob  Roy"  on  the  Baltic.  3rd  Edition 
small  post  8vo,  2s.  6d. 

A  Thousand  Miles  i?i  the  ^^ Rob  Roy'''    Canoe,     nth 

Edition,  small  post  8vo,  2s.  6d. 

Description  of  the  '■^Rob  Roy''  Canoe,  with  Plans,  &c.,  i^. 

The    Voyage  Alone  in   the  Yawl  ^^ Rob  Roy''      New 

Edition,  thoroughly  revised,  with  additions,  small  post  8vo,  5^. 

Mackenzie  (D).  The  Flooding  of  the  Sahara.  An  Account  of 
the  Project  for  opening  direct  communication  with  38,000,000  people. 
With  a  Description  of  North- West  Africa  and  Soudan.  By  Donalp 
Mackenzie.     8vo,  cloth  extra,  with  Illustrations,  ioj.  dd. 

Macquoid  (Mrs .)  Elinor  Dryden.     Crown  8vo,  cloth,  6s. 

'• —  Dia7ie.     Crown  8vo,  ds. 

Marked  Life  (A)  ;  or.  The  Autobiography  of  a  Clairvoyante. 
By  "Gipsy."    Post  8vo,  5^-. 

Markham  {A.  Lf.)  The  Cruise  of  the  '' Rosario."  By  A.  H. 
Markham,  R.N.     8vo,  cloth  extra,  with  Map  and  Illustrations. 

A    Whaling  Cruise  to  Baffin's  Bay  and  the  Gulf  of 

Boothia.  With  an  Account  of  the  Rescue  by  his  Ship,  of  the  Sur- 
vivors of  the  Crew  of  the  "Polaris;"  and  a  Description  of  Modern 
Whale  Fishing.  3rd  and  Cheaper  Edition,  crown  8vo,  2  Maps  and 
several  Illustrations,  cloth  extra,  7^.  6d. 

Markham  (C.  R.)  The  Threshold  of  the  Unknown  Region. 
Crown  8vo,  vnth  Four  Maps,  4th  Edition,  with  Additional  Chapters, 
giving  the  History  of  our  present  Expedition,  as  far  as  known,  and  an 
Account  of  the  Cruise  of  the  "Pandora."     Cloth  extra,  lOj.  dd. 

Maury  {Commander)  Physical  Geography  of  the  Sea,  and  its 
Meteorology.  Being  a  Reconstruction  and  Enlargement  of  his  former 
Work,  with  (Charts  and  Diagrams.     New  Edition,  crown  8vo,  6j. 

Men  of  Mark:  a  Gallery  of  Contemporary  Portraits  of  the  most 
Eminent  Meii  of  the  Day  taken  from  Life,  especially  for  this  publica- 
tion, price  IS.  6d.  monthly.  Vols.  I.,  II.,  and  III,  handsomely  bound, 
cloth,  gilt  edges,  25^.  each. 

Mercy  Philbrick's  Choice.    Small  post  8vo,  3^.  dd. 

"The  story  Js  of  a  high  character,  and  the  play  of  feeling  is  very  subtilely  and 
cleverly  wrought  out" — British  Quarterly  Revinv. 


I 


List  of  Publications,  19 


Michael  Strogoff.     10s.  6d.     ^S^^  Verne. 

Mic/iie  {Sir  A.,  K.C.M.G)  See  "Readings  in  Melbourne/* 

Mitford  {Miss).     See  "  Our  Village." 

Mohr  {E.)  To  the  Victoria  Falls  of  the  Zambesi.  By  Edward 
MoHR.  Translated  by  N.  D'Anv^rs.  Numerous  Full-page  and  other 
Woodcut  Illustrations,  Four  Chromo-lithographs,  and  Map.  Demy  8vo» 
cloth  extra,  24J. 

Montaigne's  Essays.     See  "  Gentle  Life  Series." 

Motit  Blanc.     See  Le-Duc. 

Moody  {Emma)  Echoes  of  the  Heart.  A  Collection  of  upwards 
of  2CX)  Sacred  Poems.     i6mo,  cloth,  gilt  edges,  3^-.  6d. 

My  Brother  Jack ;  or,  The  Story  of  Whatd'yecallefn.  Written 
by  Himself.  From  the  French  of  Alphonse  Daudet.  Illustrated 
by  P.  PHiLirpoTEAUX.     Square  imperial  i6mo,  cloth  extra,  ^s.  6d, 

"  He  would  answer  to  Hi  !  or  to  any  loud  cry. 
To  What-you-may-call-'em,  or  What  was  his  name  ; 
But  especially  Thingamy-jig." — Hunting  of  the  Snark. 

My  Rambles  in  the  New  World.     By  Lucien  Biart,  Author  of 

**  The  Adventures  of  a  Young  Naturalist."     Crown  8vo,  cloth  extra. 

Numerous  full-page  Illustrations,  7J.  dd. 
Mysterious  Island.    By  Jules  Verne.    3  vols.,  imperial  1 6mo. 

150  Illustrations,  cloth  gilt,  3J.   6i/.    each ;   elaborately  bound,  gilt 

edges,  7j.  6^.  each. 

ATARES  {Sir  G.  S.,  K.C.B)  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to  the 

^  ^  Polar  Sea  during  1875-76,  in  H.M.'s  Ships  "Alert"  and  "Discovery." 
By  Captain  Sir  G.  S.  Nares,  R.N.,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S.  Published  by  per- 
mission of  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty.  With  Notes  on 
the  Natural  History,  edited  by  H.  W.  Feilden,  F.G.S.,  C.M.Z.S., 
F.R.G.S.,  Naturalist  to  the  Expedition.  Two  Volumes,  demySvo,  with 
numerous  Woodcut  Illustrations,  Photographs,  &c.    4th  Edition,  2/.  2s. 

New  Child s  Play  {A).  Sixteen  Drawings  by  E.  V.  B.  Beauti- 
fully printed  in  colours,  4tO,  cloth  extra,  \2s.  6d. 

New  Ireland.  By  A.  M.  Sullivan,  M.P.  for  Louth.  2  vols., 
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Author  has  had  in  view  in  writing  this  work  has  been  to  lay  before 
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scriptive sketches  of  the  episodes  in  Ireland's  career  during  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century.    Cheaper  Edition,  i  vol.,  crown  8vo,  2>s.  6d. 

New  Testament.  The  Authorized  English  Version ;  with 
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gilt  edges,  2x.  6d.  ;  cheaper  style,  2s.  ;  or  sewed,  is.  6d. 

Noble  Words  and  Noble  Deeds.     Translated  from  the  French  of 
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"  Is  certain  to  become  a  favourite  with  young  people."— C^«r/f  Joufnal. 


20  Sampson  Low^  Marston^  6^  Coh 

North  American  Review  {The).     Monthly,  price  2s.  6d. 

Notes  and  Sketches  of  an  Architect  taken  during  a  Journey  in  the 

North-West  of  Europe.     Translated  from  the  French  of  Felix  Nar- 

JOUX.  214  Full-page  and  other  Illustrations.  Demy  8vo,  cloth  extra,  16s. 

"His  book  is  vivacious  and  sometimes  brilliant.     It  is  admirably  printed  and 

illustrated." — British  Quarterly  Review. 

Notes  on  Fish  and  Fishing.  By  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Manley,  M.A. 
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one  amongst  them." — Notes  and  Queries. 

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"  Brightly  and  pleasantly  written." — John  Bull. 

Novels.     Crown  8vo,  cloth,  10s.  6d,  per  vol.  : — 

Mary  Anerley.   By  R.  D.  Blackmore,  Author  of  "  Lorna  Doone,** 

&c.     3  vols.  [In  the  press. 

An  Old  Story  of  My  Farming-  Days.    By  Fritz  Reuter,  Author 

of  •*  In  the  Year  '13."     3  vols. 
All  the  "World's  a  Stage.    By  M.  A.  M.  Ilorpus,  Author  of  *'  Five 

Chimnney  Farm."     3  vols. 
Cressida.     By  M.  B.  Thomas.    3  vols. 
Elizabeth.  Eden.     3  vols. 
The  Martyr  of  Q-lencree.     A  Stoiy  of  the  Persecutions  in  Scotland 

in  the  Reign  of  Charles  the  Second.     By  R.  Somers.     3  vols. 
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Balzac.     3  vols. 
A  "Woman  of  Mind.     3  vols. 
The  Cossacks.     By  Count  Tolstoy.    Translated  from  the  Russian 

by  Eugene  Schuyler,  Author  of  "Turkistan.*'    2  vols. 
The  Hour  will  Come  :  a  Tale  of  an  Alpine  Cloister.     By  WlLHEL- 

MiNE  Von  Hillern,  Author  of  "  The  Vulture  Maiden."  Trans- 
lated from  the  German  by  Clara  Bell.     2  vols. 
A  Stroke  of  an  Afg-han  Knife.    By  R.  A.  Sterndale,  F.R.G.S., 

Author  of  *'  Seonee."     3  vols. 
The  Braes  of  "yarrow.     By  C.  Gibbon.     3  vols. 
Auld  Lang  Syne.    By  the  Author  of ' '  The  Wreck  of  the  Grosvenor. " 

2  vols. 
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Chrtsti."    2  vols. 
In  a  Rash  Moment.    By  Jessie  McLaren.     2  vols. 
Old  Charlton.     By  Baden  Pritchard.     3  vols. 

"  Mr.    Baden  Pritchard  has  produced  a  well-written   and  interesting  story." — 
Scotsman. 

Nursery  Playmates  {Prince  of ).  217  Coloured  pictures  for 
Children  by  eminent  Artists.     Folio,  in  coloured  boards,  6j. 

OCEAN  to  Ocean  :  Sandford  Flemings  Expedition  through 
Canada  in  1872.    By  the  Rev.  George  M.  Grant.    With  Illustra. 
tions.    Revised  and  enlarged  Edition,  crown  8vo,  cloth,  7^.  6df. 


List  of  Publications.  21 


Old-Fashioned  Girl.     See  Alcott. 

Oleographs.     (Catalogues  and  price  lists  on  application.) 

Ohphant  {Mrs.)  Innocent.  A  Tale  of  Modern  Life.  By  Mrs. 
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On  Horseback  through  Asia  Minor.  By  Capt.  Fred  Burnaby, 
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8vo,  with  three  Maps  and  Portrait  of  Author,  6th  Edition,  38J.  This 
work  describes  a  ride  of  over  2000  miles  through  the  heart  of  Asia 
Minor,  and  gives  an  account  of  five  months  with  Turks,  Circassians, 
Christians,  and  Devil- worshippers.  Cheaper  Edition,  crown  Svo,  ios.6d. 

On  Restoration.     See  Le-Duc. 

On  Trek  in  the  Transvaal ;  or,  Over  Berg  and  Veldt  in  South 

Africa.     By  H.  A.  RoCHE.    Crown  Svo,  cloth,  icxr.  dd.    4th  Edition. 
Orlebar  {Eleanor  E)     See  "  Sancta  Christina,"  "  Food  for  the 

People." 
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With  Frontispiece  after  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds.     Fcap.,  cloth  extra, 

New  Edition — the  3rd,  with  Illustrations,  5^. 

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of  Figure  Subjects  and  Scenes,  from  Drawings  by  W.  H.  J.  Boot  and 
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neighbourhood  of  "  Our  Village."  Crown  4to,  cloth  extra,  gilt  edges, 
2 1  J. 

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Out  of  School  at  Eton.  Being  a  collection  of  Poetry  and  Prose 
Writings.    By  Some  Present  Etonians.    Foolscap  Svo,  cloth,  3^.  6d. 


pALNTERS  of  All  Schools.     By  Louis  Viardot,  and  other 

"^         Writers.     500  pp.,  super-royal  Svo,  20  Full-page  and   70  smaller 
Engravings,  cloth  extra,  2^s.     A  New  Edition  is  being  issued  in  Half- 
crown  parts,  with  fifty  additional  portraits,  cloth,  gilt  edges,  31^".  dd. 
"A  handsome  volume,  full  of  information  and  sound  criticism." — Titties. 

"Almost  an  encyclopaedia  of  painting It  may  be  recommended  as  a  handy 

and  elegant  guide  to  beginners  in  the  study  of  the  history  oiaxt."— Saturday  Review. 

Palliser  {Mrs.)  A  History  of  Lace,  from  the  Earliest  Period. 
A  New  and  Revised  Edition,  with  additional  cuts  and  text,  upwards 
of  100  Illustrations  and  coloured  Designs,     i  vol.  Svo,  il.  is. 

"  One  of  the  most  readable  books  of  the  season  ;  permanently  valuable,  always  in- 
teresting, often  amusing,  and  not  inferior  in  all  the  essentials  of  a  gift  book." — Ttvtes, 

— — •  Historic  Devices,  Badges,  and  War  Cries.     Svo,  i/.  i^. 


22  Sampson  Low,  Marston,  &>  Coh 

Falliser  {Mrs.)  The  China  Collector's  Pocket  Companion.  With 
upwards  of  icxxD  Illustrations  of  Marks  and  Monograms.  2nd  Edition, 
with  Additions.     Small  post  8vo,  limp  cloth,  ^s. 

"  We  scarcely  need  add  that  a  more  trustworthy  and  convenient  handbook  does 
not  exist,  and  that  others  besides  ourselves  will  feel  grateful  to  Mrs.  Palliser  for  the 
care  and  skill  she  has  bestowed  upon  it." — Academy. 

Fetites  Leqons  de  Conversation  et  de  Gramniaire:  Oral  and 
Conversational  Method  ;  being  Little  Lessons  introducing  the  most 
Useful  Topics  of  Daily  Conversation,  upon  an  entirely  new  principle, 
&c.  By  F.  JULIEN,  French  Master  at  King  Edward  the  Sixth's 
Grammar  School,  Birmingham.  Author  of  "The  Student's  French 
Examiner,"  which  see. 

Phillips    (Z.)    Dictionary    of  Biographical   Reference.       8vo, 

i/.  IIJ.  dd. 
Phipson   {Dr.  T.   L.)  Familiar  Letters  on  so?ne  Mysteries  of 

Nature  and  Discoveries  in  Science.     Crown  8vo,  cloth  extra,  ^s.  ^d. 
Photography  {History  and  Handbook  of).     See  Tissandier. 

Picture  Gallery  of  British  Art  (The).  38  Permanent  Photo- 
graphs after  the  most  celebrated  English  Painters.  With  Descriptive 
Letterpress.  Vols,  i  to  5,  cloth  extra,  i8j.  each.  Vol.  6  for  1877, 
commencing  New  Series,  demy  folio,  31^-.  6d.    Monthly  Parts,  is.  6d. 

Pike  {N.)  Sub- Tropical  Rambles  in  the  Land  of  the  Aphanapteryx. 
In  I  vol.,  demy  8vo,  \%s.  Profusely  Illustrated  from  the  Author's 
own  Sketches.     Also  with  Maps  and  Meteorological  Charts. 

Placita  Anglo- Normannica.  The  Procedure  and  Constitution  of 
the  Anglo-Norman  Courts  (William  I. — Richard  L),  as  shown  by 
Contemporaneous  Records  ;  all  the  Reports  of  the  Litigation  of  the 
period,  as  recorded  in  the  Chronicles  and  Histories  of  the  time,  being 
gleaned  and  literally  transcribed.  With  Explanatory  Notes,  &c.  By 
M.  M.  BiGELOW.     Demy  8vo,  cloth,  21s, 

Plutarch's  Lives.    An   Entirely   New    and    Library    Edition. 

Edited  by  A.  H.  CloUGH,  Esq.     5  vols.,  8vo,  2/.  loj.;  half-moroccq^ 

gilt  top,   3/.     Also  in  I  vol.,  royal  8vo,  800  pp.,  cloth  extra,  i8j.; 

half-bound,  2ls. 
Morals.     Uniform  with  Clough's  Edition  of  "  Lives  of 

Plutarch."    Edited  by  Professor  Goodwin.     5  vols.,  8vo,  3/.  3^. 
Foe  {E.  A.)  The  Works  of     4  vols.,  2/.  2s. 

Foetus  of  the  Lnner  Life.  A  New  Edition,  Revised,  with  many 
dditional  Poems,  inserted  by  permission  of  the  Authors.  Small  post 
8vo,  cloth,  5j. 

Poganuc  People:  their  Loves  and  Lives.  By  Mrs.  Beecher 
Stowe.     Crown  8vo,  cloth,  lOr.  6^. 

Polar  Expeditions,     See  Koldewey,  Markham,  MacGahan 

and  Nares. 


List  of  Publications,  23 


Pottery :  how  it  is  Made^  its  Shape  and  Decor atio7i.  Practical 
Instructions  for  Painting  on  Porcelain  and  all  kinds  of  Pottery  with 
vitrifiaMc  and  common  Oil  Colours.  With  a  full  Bibliography  of 
Standard  Works  upon  the  Ceramic  Art.  By  G.  Ward  Nichols. 
42  Illustrations,  crown  8vo,  red  edges,  6j. 

Practical  (A)  Handbook  to  the  Principal  Schools  of  England. 
]5y  C.  E.  Pascoe.  Showing  the  cost  of  living  at  the  Great  Schools, 
Scholarships,  &c.,  &c.  New  Edition  corrected  to  1879,  crown  8vo, 
cloth  extra,  3^.  dd. 

"  This    is   an    exceedingly   useful   work,  and  one    that   was   much  wanted.'  — 
Examiner. 

Practical  Treatise  on  Electricity  and  Magnetism.  By  J.  E.  H. 
Gordon,  B.A.     One  volume,  demy  8vo,  very  numerousilllustrations. 

Prejevalsky  {N.  M.)  Prom  Kulja,  across  the  Tian  Shan  to  Lob- 
nor.  Translated  by  E.  Delmar  Morgan,  F.R.G.S.  With  Notes 
and  Introduction  by  SiR  DoUGLAS  FORSYTH,  K. C.S.I,  i  vol., 
demy  8vo,  with  a  Map. 

Prince  Pit  to  ;  or,  The  Pour-leaved  Shamrock.  By  Fanny  W. 
CukKiiV.  With  10  Full-page  Fac-simile  Reproductions  of  Original 
Drawings  by  Helen  O'Hara.     Demy  4to,  cloth  extra,  gilt,  ioj.  6</, 

Prisoner  of  War  in  Russia.     See  Coope. 

Publisher^  Circular  ( The),  and  General  Record  of  British  and 
Foreign  Literature.     Published  on  the  ist  and  15th  of  every  Month. 

/QUARTER  Sessions,  from  Queen  Elizabeth  to  Queen  Anne: 
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Original  Records  (chiefly  of  the  County  of  Devon).     By  A.  H.  A. 

Hamilton.     Crown  8vo,  cloth,  icw.  6d. 

JD ALSTON  {W.   R.   S.)    Early  Russian   History.      Four 
•^  *■     Lectures  delivered  at  Oxford  by  W.  R.  S.  Ralston,  M.  A.     Crowii 

8vo,  cloth  extra,  5^. 
Rambaud  {Alfred).     History  of  Russia,  from  its  Origin  to  the 

Year  1877.     With  Six  Maps.     Translated  by  Mrs.  L.  B.  Lang.     2 

vols,  demy  8vo,  cloth  extra,  38^. 

Mr.  W,  R.  S.   Ralston,  in  the  Academy,  says,    "We  gladly   recognize  in  the 

present  volume  a  trustworthy  history  of  Russia. 

"We  will  venture  to  prophecy  that  it  will  become  the  work  on  the  subject  for 

readers  in  our  part  of  Europe.  .  .  .     Mrs.  Lang  has  done  her  work  remarkably 

well." — A  thtnoeum. 

Readings  in  Melbourne ;  with  an  Essay  on  the  Resources  and 
Prospects  of  Victoria  for  the  Emigrant  and  Uneasy  Classes.  By  Sir 
Archihald  MiCHiE,  Q.C.,  K.C.M.G.,  Agent-General  for  Victoria. 
With  Coloured  Map  of  Australia.  Crown  8vo,  cloth  extra,  price  *js.  6d. 
"  Comprises  more  information  on  the  prospects  and  resources  of  Victoria  than  any 
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"  A  work  which  is  in  every  respect  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  instructive 
that  has  ever  been  written  about  that  land  which  claims  to  be  the  premier  colony  of 
the  Australian  group." — TAe  Colonits  and  India. 


24  Sampson  Low,  Marston,  cSr»  Co.^s 

Recollections  of  Samuel  Breck,  the  American  Pepys.  With 
Passages  from  his  Note-Books  {1771 — 1862).  Crown  8vo,  cloth,  lar.  6^. 

Recollections  of  Writers.  By  Charles  and  Mary  Cowden 
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and  Charles  Dickens  ;  and  a  Preface  by  Mary  Cowden  Clarke. 
Crown  Svo,  cloth,  ioj.  dd. 

Reminiscences  of  the  War  in  New  Zealand.  By  Thomas  W. 
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With  Twelve  Portra-ts.     Crown  Svo,  cloth  extra,  \os.  6d. 

"The  interest  attaching  at  the  present  moment  to  all  Britannia's  'little  wars' 
should  render  more  than  ever  welcome  such  a  detailed  narrative  of  Maori  cam- 
paigns as  that  contained  in  Lieut.  Gudgeon's  '  Experiences  of  New  Zealand  War.' ' 
— Graphic. 

Robinson  {Phil).     See  "  In  my  Indian  Garden." 
Rochefoucauld's  Reflections.     Bayard  Series,  2s.  6d. 

Rogers  (S.)  Pleasures  of  Memory.     See  "  Choice  Editions  of 

Choice  Books."     2s.  6d. 
Rohlfs  {Dr.  G.)  Adventures  in  Morocco,  and  Journeys  through  the 

Oases  of  Draa  and  Tafilet.     By  Dr.  G.  Rohlfs.     Demy  Svo,  Map, 

and  Portrait  of  the  Author,  \2s. 
Rose  in  Bloom.     See  Alcott. 
Rose  Library  ( The).     Popular  Literature  of  all  countries.     Each 

volume,  IS.  ;  cloth,  2s.  6d.     Many  of  the  Volumes  are  Illustrated — 

1.  Sea-Gull  Rock.     By  Jules  Sandeau.     Illustrated. 

2.  Little  Women.    By  Louisa  M.  Alcott. 

3.  Little  "Women  Wedded.     Forming  a  Sequel  to  "Little  Women." 

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vol.,  2J.  ;  cloth,  3J.  6d. 

7.  The  Mistress  of  the  Manse.     By  J.  G.  Holland. 

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Married. 

9.  Undine,  and  the  Two  Captains.     By  Baron  De  La  Motte 

F0UQU6.     A  Nevi^  Translation  by  F.  E,  Bunnett.     Illustrated. 

10.  Draxy  Miller's  Dowry,  and  the   Elder's  Wife.     By  Saxe 

Holm. 

11.  The  Four  Gold  Pieces.     By  Madame  Gouraud.     Numerous 

Illustrations. 

12.  Work.    A  Story  of  Experience.     First  Portion.     By  Louisa  M. 

Alcott. 

13.  Begrinningr  Again.     Being  a   Continuation    of  "Work."     By 

Louisa  M.  Alcott. 

14.  Picciola;     or,   the  Prison  Flower.       By   X.    B.    Saintine. 

Numerous  Graphic  Illustrations. 


List  of  Publications .  a  5 

T/ie  Rose  Library,  continued: — 
15^  Robert's  Holidays.     Illustrated. 

16.  The  Two  Children  of  St.  Doming'o.    Numerous  Illustrations. 

17.  Aunt  Jo's  Scrap  Bag-. 

18.  Stowe  (Mrs.  H.  B.)  The  Pearl  of  Orr's  Island. 
19. The  Minister's  "Wooiner. 

20.  Betty's  Bright  Idea. 

21.  '  The  Ghost  in  the  MiU. 

22.  Captain  Kidd's  Money. 

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26.  Lowell's  My  Study  Window. 

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28.  Warner  (C.  D.)  My  Summer  in  a  Garden. 

29.  Hitherto.   By  the  Author  of  "  The  Gayworthys."    2  vols. ,  ij.  each. 

30.  Helen's  Babies.     By  their  Latest  Victim. 

31.  The  Barton  Experiment.    By  the  Author  of  **  Helen's  Babies. " 

32.  Dred.     By  Mrs.   Beecher  Stowe.     Double  vol.,   2s.      Cloth, 

gilt,  zs.  6d. 

33.  Warner  (C.  D.)  In  the  Wilderness. 

34.  Six  to  One.     A  Seaside  Story. 

Russell  {W.  H,,  LL.D.)  The  Tour  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  in 
India,  and  his  Visits  to  the  Courts  of  Greece,  Egypt,  Spain,  and 
Portugal.  By  W.  H.  Russell,  LL.D.,  who  accompanied  the 
Prince  throughout  his  journey ;  fully  Illustrated  by  Sydney  P.  Hall, 
M.A.,  the  Prince's  Private  Artist,  with  his  Royal  Highness's  special 
permission  to  use  the  Sketches  made  during  the  Tour.  Super-royal 
8vo,  cloth  extra,  gilt  edges,  52^.  6^.;  Large  Paper  Edition,  84^. 

5ANCTA     Christina:  a  Story  of  the  First   Century.     By 
Eleanor  E.  Orlebar.    With  a  Preface  by  the  Bishop  of  Winchester. 
Small  post  8vo,  cloth  extra,  5^. 

Schweinfurth  {Dr.  G.)  Heart  of  Africa.     Which  see. 

— Artes  Africance.  Illustrations  and  Description  of  Pro- 
ductions of  the  Natural  Arts  of  Central  African  Tribes.  With  26 
Lithographed  Plates,  imperial  4to,  boards,  28s. 

Scientific  Memoirs:  being  Experimental  Contributions  to  a 
Knowledge  of  Radiant  Energy.  By  John  William  Draper,  M.  D., 
LL.D.,  Author  of  "A  Treatise  on  Human  Physiology,"  &c.  With 
Steel  Portrait  of  the  Author.     Demy  8vo,  cloth,  473  pages,  14J. 

Scott  {Sir  G.  Gilbert.)     See  *'  Autobiography." 

Sea- Gull  Rock.     By  Jules  Sandeau,  of  the  French  Academy. 

Royal  i6mo,   with  79  Illustrations,    cloth   extra,  gilt  edges,    7x.   6d, 
Cheaper  Edition,  cloth  gilt,  2s.  6d.     See  also  Rose  Library. 


26  Sampson  Low,  Marston,  <5r*  Co.^s 

Seonee :  Sporting  in  the  Satpura  Range  of  Central  India,  and  in 
the  Valley  of  the  Nerbudda.  By  R.  A.  Sterndale,  F.R.G.S.  8vo, 
with  numerous  Illustrations,  lis. 

Shakespeare  {The  Boudoir).  Edited  by  Henry  Cundell. 
Carefully  bracketted  for  reading  aloud  ;  freed  from  all  objectionable 
matter,  and  altogether  free  from  notes.  Price  2s.  6d.  each  volume, 
cloth  extra,  gilt  edges.  Contents  : — -Vol  I.,  Cymbeline — Merchant  of 
Venice.  Each  play  separately,  paper  cover,  is.  Vol.  II.,  As  You 
Like  It — King  Lear — Much  Ado  about  Nothing.  Vol.  III.,  Romeo 
and  Juliet — Twelfth  Night — King  John.  The  latter  six  plays  sepa- 
rately, paper  cover,  ()d. 

SItakespeare  Key  ( The).  Forming  a  Companion  to  "  The 
Complete  Concordance  to  Shakespeare.  *'  By  Charles  and  Mary 
CowDEN  Clarke.  '  Demy  8vo,  800  pp.,  21s. 

Shooting:  its  Appliances,  Practice,  and  Purpose.  By  James 
Dalziel  Dougall,  F.S.A.,  F.Z.A.  Author  of  "Scottish  Field 
Sports,"  &c.     Crown  8vo,  cloth  extra,  los.  6d. 

"The  book  is  admirable  in  every  way We  wish  it  every  success."— G/o^J^. 

"A  ver^'  complete  treatise Likely  to  take  high  rank  as  an  authority  on 

shooting." — Daily  News. 

Silent  Hour  {The).     See  "  Gentle  Life  Series." 

Silver  Pitchers.     See  Alcott. 

Simon  {yules).     See  "  Government  of  M.  Thiers." 

Six  to  One.    A  Seaside  Story.     i6mo,  boards,  is. 

Sketches  from  an  Artisfs  Portfolio.     By   Sydney   P.    Hall. 
About  60  Fac-similes  of  his  Sketches  during  Travels  in  various  parts  of 
Europe.     Folio,  cloth  extra,  3/.  3J. 
"A  portfolio  which  any  one  might  be  glad  to  call  their  own." — Times. 

Sleepy  Sketches ;  or.  How  we  Live,  and  How  we  Do  Not  Live, 
From  Bombay,     i  vol.,  small  post  8vo,  cloth,  ds. 
"  Well-written  and  amusing  sketches  of  Indian  society." — Morning  Post. 

Smith  {G.)  Assyrian  Explorations  and  Discoveries.  By  the  late 
George  Smith.  Illustrated  by  Photographs  and  Woodcuts.  Demy 
8vo,  6th  Edition,  i8j. 

The   Chaldean  Account  of    Genesis.  ,  Containing   the 

Description  of  the  Creation,  the  Fall  of  Man,  the  Deluge,  the  Tower 
of  Babel,  the  Times  of  the  Patriarchs,  and  Nimrod ;  Babylonian 
Fables,  and  Legends  of  the  Gods ;  from  the  Cuneiform  Inscriptions. 
By  the  late  G.  Smith,  of  the  Department  of  Oriental  Antiquities, 
British  Museum.  With  many  Illustrations.  Demy  8vo,  cloth  extra, 
5th  Edition,  ids. 

Snow- Shoes  and  Canoes;  or,  the  Adventures  of  a  Fur- Hunter 
in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territory.  By  W.  H.  G.  Kingston.  2nd 
Edition.  With  numerous  Illustrations.  Square  crown  8vo,  cloth 
extra,  gilt,  *js.  6d. 


List  of  PuUications.  2  7 


South  Australia:  its  History,  Resources^  and  Productions, 
Edited  by  W.  Harcus,  J. P.,  with  66  full-page  Woodcut  Illustrations 
from  Photographs  taken  in  the  Colony,  and  2  Maps.     Demy  8vo,  21J. 

Spain.  Illustrated  by  Gustave  Dore.  Text  by  the  Baron 
Ch.  D' Avillier.  Containing  over  240  Wood  Engravings  by  Dore, 
half  of  them  being  Full-page  size.  Imperial  4to,  elaborately  bound 
in  cloth,  extra  gilt  edges,  3/.  3J. 

Stanley  {H.  M.)  How  I  Found  Livingstone.  Crown  8vo,  cloth 
extra,  7^.  6</.  ;  large  Paper  Edition,  los.  6d. 

"J/y  Kalulu,'^  Prince,   King,   and  Slave.     A   Story 

from  Central  Africa,  Crown  8vo,  about  430  pp. ,  with  numerous  graphic 
Illustrations,  after  Original  Designs  by  the  Author.     Cloth,  7^-.  dd. 

Coomassie  and  Magdala.     A    Story   of  Two   British 


Campaigns  in  Africa.     Demy  8vo,  with  Maps  and  Illustrations,  i6j. 

Through  the  Dark  Continent,  which  see. 

St.  Nicholas  for  1879.     \s.  monthly. 

Story  without  an  End.  From  the  German  of  Carov^,  by  the  late 
Mrs.  Sarah  T.  Austin.  Crown  4to,  with  15  Exquisite  Drawings 
by  E.  V.  B.,  printed  in  Colours  in  Fac-simile  of  the  original  Water 
Colours  ;  and  numerous  other  Illustrations.     New  Edition,  *js.  6d. 

square  4to,  with  Illustrations  by  Harvey.     2s.  6d. 

Stowe  {Mrs.  Beecher)  Dred.     Cheap  Edition,  boards,  2s.  Cloth, 

gilt  edges,  y.  6d. 
Footsteps  of  the  Master.     With    Illustrations   and  red 

borders.     Small  post  8vo,  cloth  extra,  6s. 

Geography,  with  60  Illustrations.     Square  cloth,  4^-.  6d. 

Little   Foxes.     Cheap    Edition,   u. ;  Library  Edition, 


4J.  6d. 

Betty's  Bright  Ldea.     is. 

My    Wife    and  I ;    or,   Harry  Henderson's  History. 

Small  post  8vo,  cloth  extra,  6s.  * 

Minister's  Wooing,  5^.;  Copyright  Series,  is.  6d.\  cl.,  2j.* 

Old  Town  Folk.     6s. :  Cheap  Edition,  2s.  6d. 

Old  Town  Fireside  Stories.     Cloth  extra,  3^-.  6d. 

Our  Folks  at  Poganuc.     10s.  6d. 

We  and  our  Neighbours.     1  vol.,  small  post  8vo,  63. 


Sequel  to  "My  Wife  and  I."* 

Pink  and  White  Tyranny.     Small  post  8vo,  '^s.  6d. ; 

Cheap  Edition,  is.  6d.  and  2s. 

Queer  Little  People,     is. ;  cloth,  2s. 

Chimney  Corner,     is.  \  cloth,  is.  6d. 

The  Pearl  of  Orr's  Island.     Crown  8vo,  5^.* 

•  See  also  Rose  Library. 


28 


Sampson  Low^  MaistoUy  6^  Co,^s 


Stowe  {Mrs.  Beecher)  Little  Pussey  Willow.     Fcap.,  2S. 

Woman  in  Sacred  History.  Illustrated  with  1 5  Chromo- 
lithographs and  about  200  pages  of  Letterpress.  Demy  4to,  cloth 
extra,  gilt  edges,  25J. 

Street  Life  in  London.  By  J.  Thomson,  F.R.G.S.,  and  Adolphe 
Smith.  One  volume,  4to,  containing  40  Permanent  Photographs  of 
Scenes  of  London  Street  Life,  with  Descriptive  Letterpress,  25J. 

Student's  French  Examiner.  By  F.  Julien,  Author  of  "  Petites 
Le9ons  de  Conversation  et  de  Grammaire."  Square  crown  8vo,  cloth 
extra,  zs. 

Studies  from  Nature.  24  Photographs,  with  Descriptive  Letter- 
press.    By  Steven  Thompson.     Imperial  4to,  35^. 

Sub-Tropical  Rambles.     See  Pike  (N). 

Sullivan  {A.  M.,  M.P.).     See  "  New  Ireland." 

Sulphuric  Acid  (A  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Manufacture  of). 
By  A.  G.  and  C.  G.  Lock,  Consulting  Chemical  Engineers.  With 
77  Construction  Plates,  drawn  to  scale  measurements,  and  other 
Illustrations. 

Summer  Holiday  in  Scandinavia  {A).  By  E.  L.  L.  Arnold, 
Crown  8vo,  cloth  extra,  los.  6d. 

Sufnner  {Hon.  Charles).     See  Life  and  Letters. 

Surgeon's  Handbook  on  the  Treat^nent  of  Wounded  in  War.  By 
Dr.  Friedrich  Esmarch,  Professor  of  Surgery  in  the  University  of 
Kiel,  and  Surgeon-General  to  the  Prussian  Army.  Translated  by 
H.  H.  Glutton,  B.A.  Cantab,  F.R.C.S.  Numerous  Coloured 
Plates  and  Illustrations,  8vo,  strongly  bound  in  flexible  leather,  i/.  &f. 

JAUCHNLTZ'S    English    Editions    of   German    Authors, 
Each  volume,  cloth  flexible,  2s.  ;  or  sewed,  is.  6d.    (Catalogues  post 
free  on  application.) 

^ •  (B.)  German  and  English  Dictionary.    Cloth,  is.  6d.; 

roan,  2s, 

French  and  English.     Paper,  is.  dd. ;  cloth,  2s ;  roan, 


2s.  6d. 


Italian  and  English.     Paper,    is.   6d. ;    cloth,    25.  j 
roan,  2s.  6d. 

Spanish  and  English.     Paper,  is.  6d. ;  cloth,  2s.  j  roan. 


2s.  6d. 

New  Testament.     Cloth,  2s. ;  gilt,  2s.  6d. 


The  Telephone.  An  Account  of  the  Phenomena  of  Electricity, 
Magnetism,  and  Sound.  By  Prof.  A.  E,  Dolbear,  Author  of  "The 
Art  of  Projecting,"  &c.  Second  Edition,  with  an  Appendix  De- 
scriptive of  Prof.  Bell's  Present  Instrument.  130  pp.,  with  19  Illus- 
trations, IS. 


List  of  Publications,  2  9 


Tennyson's  May  Queen.  Choicely  Illustrated  from  designs  by 
the  Hon.  Mrs.  Boyle.     Crown  8vo  [See  Choice  Series),  2s.  6d. 

Textbook  {A)  of  Harmony.  For  the  Use  of  Schools  and 
Students.  By  the  late  Charles  Edward  Horsley.  Revised  for 
the  Press  by  Westley  Richards  and  W.  H.  Calcott.  Small  post 
8vo,  cloth  extra,  3^.  6d. 

Thebes,  and  its  Five  Greater  Temples.     See  Abney. 

Thirty  Short  Addresses  for  Family  Prayers  or  Cottage  Meetings. 
By  *•  Fidelis."  Author  of  "Simple  Preparation  for  the  Holy  Com- 
munion." Containing  Addresses  by  the  late  Canon  Kingsley,  Rev. 
G.  H.  Wilkinson,  and  Dr.  Vaughan.      Crown  8vo,  cloth  extra,  5j. 

Thofnson  {/.)  Tlie  Straits  of  Malacca,  Indo- China,  and  China; 
or,  Ten  Years'  Travels,  Adventures,  and  Residence  Abroad.  By  J. 
Thomson,  F.R.G.S.,  Author  of  "Illustrations  of  China  and  its 
People."     Upwards  of  60  Woodcuts.    Demy  Svo,  cloth  extra,  21s. 

Through  Cyprus  with  the  Camera,  in  the  Autumn  of 

1878.  Sixty  large  and  very  fine  Permanent  Photographs,  illustrating 
the  Coast  and  Inland  Scenery  of  Cyprus,  and  the  Costumes  and  Types 
of  the  Natives,  specially  taken  on  a  journey  undertaken  for  the  pur- 
pose. By  John  Thomson,  F.R.G.S.,  Author  of  "Illustrations  of 
China  and  its  People,"  &c.    Two  royal  4to  volumes,  cloth  extra,  105J. 

Thome  (E.)  The  Queen  of  the  Colonies ;  or,  Queensland  as  I 

saw  it.     I  vol.,  with  Map,  ds. 
Through  the  Dark  Continent :  The  Sources  of  the  Nile ;  Around 

the  Great  Lakes,  and  down  the  Congo.     By  Henry  M.  Stanley. 

2  vols.,  demy  Svo,  containing  150  Full-page  and  other  Illustrations, 

2  Portraits  of  the  Author,  and  10  Maps,  42J-.     Sixth  Thousand. 

'  {Map  to  the  above).     Size  34  by  56  inches,  showing, 

on  a  large  scale,  Stanley's  recent  Great  Discoveries  in  Central  Africa. 
The  First  Map  in  which  the  Congo  was  ever  correctly  traced. 
Mounted,  in  case,  i/.  u. 

"  One  of  the  greatest  geographical  discoveries  of  the  ag^."— Spectator. 

"  Mr.  Stanley  has  penetrated  the  very  heart  of  the  mystery.  .  ._ ._  He  has  opened 
up  a  perfectly  yiigin  region,  never  before,  so  far  as  known^jnsited  by  a  white 
man. "—  Times.  "'■■ 

To  the  Arctic  Regions  and  Back  in  Six  Weeks.     By  Captaic 
A.  W.  M.  Clark  Kennedy  (late  of  the  Coldstream  Guards).    W' 
Illustrations  and  Maps.     8vo,  cloth,  15^. 

Tour  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  in  India.    See  Russell. 

Trees  and  Ferns.     By  F.  G.  Heath.     CroAvn  Svo,  clotf 
edges,  with  numerous  Illustrations,  3^.  6d. 

Turkistan.     Notes  of  a  Journey  in  the  Russian  Provi 
Central  Asia  and  the  Khanates  of  Bokhara  and  Kokand.     By 
Schuyler,    Secretary  to  the    American  Legation,  St.   P 
Numerous  Illustrations.     2  vols,  Svo,  cloth  extra,  5th  Edition, 


30 


Sampson  Low^  Marston^  6^  Coh 


Two  Americas ;  being  an  Account  of  Sport  and.  Travel,  with 
Notes  on  Men  and  Manners  in  North  and  South  America.  By  Sir 
Rose  Price,  Bart,  i  vol.,  demy  8vo,  with  Illustrations,  cloth 
extra,  2nd  Edition,  \%s. 

Two  Friends.  By  Lucien  Biart,  Author  of  "  Adventures  of 
a  Young  Naturalist,"  **  My  Rambles  in  the  New  World,"  &c.  Small 
post  8vo,  numerous  Illustrations,  yj.  6^. 

Two  Supercargoes  {The)  ;  or,  Adventures  in  Savage  Africa, 
By  W.  H.  G.  Kingston.  Square  imperial  i6mo,  cloth  extra,  7^.  dd. 
■  Numerous  Full-page  Illustrations. 

1/ANDENHOFF  (George,  M.A),     See  "Art  of  Reading 

^      Aloud." 

Clerical  Assistant.     Fcap.,  3^.  dd, 

Ladies'  Reader  {The).     Fcap.,  5^. 

Verne's  {Jules)  Works.  Translated  from  the  French,  with 
from  50  to  100  Illustrations.     Each  cloth  extra,  gilt  edges — 

Large  post  d>vo,  price  10s.  6d.  each — 

1.  Fur  Country.     Plainer  binding,  cloth,  5^. 

2.  Twenty  Thousand  Leagrues  under  the  Sea. 

3.  Prom  the  Earth  to  the  Moon,  and  a  Trip  round  It.    Plainer 

binding,  cloth,  5j. 

4.  Michael  Strogoflf,  the  Courier  of  the  Czar. 

5.  Hector  Servadac. 

6.  Dick  Sands,  the  Boy  Captain. 

"^nperial    iSmo,  price    "js.  6d.   each.      Those  marked  with  * 
in  plainer  cloth  binding,  3J.  6^.  each. 
Five  Weeks  in  a  Balloon. 
Adventures  of  Three  Engrlishmen  and  Three  Bussians  in 
South  Africa, 
round  the  World  in  Eigrhty  Days. 
loating  City,  and  the  Blockade  Runners. 
Ox's  Experiment,  Master  Zacharius,  A  Drama  in  the 
A  Winter  amid  the  Ice,  &c. 
-vivors  of  the  "  Chancellor." 
d  from  the  Clouds.  "|  The  Mysterious  Island.  3  vols., 
iGd.  >     2-25.6(1.     One  volume,  with  some  of  the 

the  Island.  J      Illustrations,  cloth,  gilt  edges,  los.  6d. 

of  the  Cavern. 

eaper  Editions  are  issued  with  a  few  of  the 
'n  paper  wrapper,  price  is.;  cloth  gilt,  2s.  each. 
if  Three  Engrlishmen  and  Three  Bussians  in 


vVeek«  in  a  Balloon. 


List  of  Publications.  31 


Verne s  {Jules)  Works ^  continued: — 

3.  A  Floating  City. 

4.  Tlie  Blockade  Runners. 

5.  Prom  the  Earth  to  the  Moon. 

6.  Around  the  Moon. 

7.  Twenty  Thousand  Leagues  under  the  Sea.     Vol.  I. 

8.  Vol.  II.     The  two  parts  in  one,  cloth,  gilt,  3^.  6^, 

9.  Around  the  World  in  Eighty  Days. 

10.  Dr.  Ox's  Experiment,  and  Master  Zacharius. 

11.  Martin  Paz,  the  Indian  Patriot. 

12.  A  Winter  amid  the  Ice. 

13.  The  Fur  Country.     Vol.  I. 

14.  Vol.  II.    Both  parts  in  one,  cloth  gilt,  y.  6d. 

15.  Survivors  of  the  "  Chancellor."     Vol.1. 

16. Vol.  II.     Both  volumes  in  one,  cloth,  gilt  edges,  3^.  6d. 

Viardot  {Louis).     See  "  Painters  of  all  Schools." 
Visit  to   the  Court  of  Morocco.      By  A.  Leaked,  Author  of 
"Morocco  and  the  Moors."    Map  and  Illustrations,  8vo,  5j-. 

TJ/ALLER  {Rev.  C.  H)  The  Names  on  the  Gates  of  Pearl, 
^^      and  other  Studies.     By  the  Rev.  C.  H.  Waller,  M.  A.     Second 
edition.     Crown  8vo,  cloth  extra,  6j. 

■ A  Grammar  and  Analytical  Vocabulary  of  the  Words  in 

the  Greek  Testament.  Compiled  from  Briider's  Concordance.  For 
the  use  of  Divinity  Students  and  Greek  Testament  Classes.  By  the 
Rev.  C.  H.  Waller,  M.  A.,  late  Scholar  of  University  College,  Oxford, 
Tutor  of  the  I-,ondon  College  of  Divinity,  St.  John's  Hall,  Highbury. 
Part  I.,  The  Grammar.  Small  post  8vo,  cloth,  2s.  6d.  Part  II.  The 
Vocabulary,  2s.  6d. 

Adoption   and    the    Covenant.      Some   Thoughts   on 


Confirmation.     Super-royal  i6mo,  cloth  limp,  2s.'6d. 
War  in  Bulgaria :  a  Narrative  of  Personal  Experiences.     By 
Lieutenant-General  Valentine  Baker  Pasha.      Maps    and 
Plans  of  Battles.     2  vols.,  demy  8vo,  cloth  extra,  2/.  2s. 

Warner  {C.  D)  My  Summer  in  a  Garden.     Rose  Library,  is, 

Back-log  Studies.     Boards,  i^.  6d. ;  cloth,  2s. 

Ln  the  Wilderness.     Rose  Library,  is. 

Mummies  and  Moslems.     8vo,  cloth,  1 2S. 

Weaving.     See  "  History  and  Principles." 

Whit7iey  {Mrs.  A.  D.  T.)  The  Gay  worthy s.     Cloth,  35.  6d. 

_Faith    Gartney.     Small  post   8vo,  is.   6d.      Cheaper 

Editions,  is.  6d.  and  2s. 
— — — Real  Folks.     1 2  mo,  crown,  3 j.  6^. 


32     Sampson  Low,  Afarsion,  &*  Co.'s  List  of  Puhlicattons. 


Whitney  {Mrs.  A.  D.  T.)  Hitherto, 
and  Zs.  6d. 


Small  post  8vo,  3J.  6d* 


Sights  a7id  Insights.     3  vols.,  crown  8vo,  31J.  dd, 

Sufumer  in  Leslie  Goldthwaite's  Life.     Cloth,  3^.  6d. 

77ie  Other  Girls.     Small  post  8vo,  cloth  extra,  35.  6d. 

We  Girls,     Small  post  Svo,  3^.  6d. ;  Cheap  Edition, 

I  J.  6d.  and  2s. 

Wikoff  {H. )  The  Four  Civilizations  of  the  World.  An  Historical 
Retrospect.     Crown  Svo,  cloth,  12s, 

Wills,  A  Few  Hints  on  Proving,  without  Professional  Assistance. 
By  a  Probate  Court  Official.  5th  Edition,  revised  with  Forms 
of  Wills,  Residuary  Accounts,  &c     Fcap.  Svo,  cloth  limp,  is. 

With  Axe  and  Rifle  on  the  Western  Prairies.  By  W.  H.  G. 
Kingston.  With  numerous  Illustrations,  square  crown  Svo,  cloth 
extra,  gilt,  *js.  6d. 

Woolsey  (C.  L>.,  LL.L>.)  Introduction  to  tJie  Study  of  Lnter- 
national  Law ;  designed  as  an  Aid  in  Teaching  and  in  Historical 
Studies.     5th  Edition,  demy  Svo,  iSj. 

Words  of  Wellington :  Maxims  and  Opinions,  Sentences  and 
Reflections  of  the  Great  Duke,  gathered  from  his  Despatches,  Letters, 
and  Speeches  (Bayard  Series).     2j.  6^. 

World  of  Comets.  By  A.  Guillemin,  Author  of  "  The 
Heavens."  Translated  and  edited  by  James  Glaisher,  F.R.S. 
I  vol.,  super-royal  Svo,  with  numerous  Woodcut  Illustrations,  and  3 
Chromo-lithographs,  cloth  extra,  31^.  dd. 

"The  mass  of  information  collected  in  the  volume  is  immense,  and  the  treatment 
of  the  subject  is  so  purely  popular,  that  none  need  be  deterred  from  a  perusal  of 
it" — British  Quarterly  Review. 

Wreck  of  the  Grosvenor.     By  W.  Clark  Russell,     ds.    Third 

and  Cheaper  Edition. 


VENOPHON'S  Anabasis ;  or.  Expedition  of   Cyrus.     A 
•^^  Literal  Translation,  chiefly  from  the  I'ext  of  Dindorff,  by  George 

B.  Wheeler.     Books  I  to  III.     Crown  Svo,  boards,  2s. 

Books  I.  to  VII.     Boards,  35.  (>d. 


EouKon: 

SAMPSON  LOW,  MARSTON,   SEARLE,  &  RIVINGTON, 
CROWN  BUILDINGS,  x88,  FLEET  STREET. 


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